RED DRAGON

By: Abbie Bernstein
Review Date: Friday, October 04, 2002

There are a number of theories on what constitutes a good reason to remake a movie. If the original took a good premise and botched it, or languished in obscurity, or was made so long ago that an update might provide new perspective, or (in some cases) has the characters speaking some language other than English, studios often feel they have just cause to embark on a new edition.

RED DRAGON, a fairly faithful remake of MANHUNTER, which is adapted from Thomas Harris' novel, is a bit of a curious case in that it doesn't really fit the above criteria. MANHUNTER was a first-rate (if slightly cold) thriller, it was widely seen (albeit not a blockbuster), made in the relatively recent year of 1986 and as American as could be. There doesn't even seem to be a desire to make RED DRAGON look all that different from MANHUNTER, as the two films share cinematographer Dante Spinotti. The driving impetus behind the remake therefore would seem to be giving a new cast and director a crack at the material, specifically Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.

Hopkins, as just about everyone knows, played the brilliant, cannibalistic Lecter twice before, first in his Oscar-winning stint in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and again in last year's HANNIBAL. However, Brian Cox introduced the character onscreen in MANHUNTER, which precedes the other two narratives. Cox was as intelligent, opaque and dangerous as one could wish, but it seems that someone felt it was necessary to have Hopkins revisit the role a third time.

The above hardly sounds like a compelling artistic impulse but, surprisingly, RED DRAGON expands on its origins, emerging as a thoroughly engrossing thriller in its own right. The new film adds a prologue that depicts the events that put Lecter away in the first place. Things get going with a shot of adrenaline and a full-on look at the levels of betrayal, rage and respect between Lecter and then-FBI investigator Will Graham (Edward Norton), as the esteemed doctor advises the agent on tracking a particular serial killer. As the audience knows, the culprit is none other than Lecter himself, a discovery that is hazardous to Graham's health. Flash forward a few years. Graham is recovered from his injuries and retired from the Bureau, but his old mentor Crawford (Harvey Keitel) begs him for help on a new case in which the perpetrator kills entire families in a distinct pattern that does not, as yet, make sense. Graham reluctantly turns for advice to the incarcerated Lecter, who enjoys playing cat and mouse with his captor. Meanwhile, Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes) is gearing up for his next round.

RED DRAGON hews

closely to Harris' novel in both broad strokes and specifics. Ted Tally's screenplay deftly moves back and forth between several sets of characters, doling out clues, keeping us focused and eliciting our sympathy not only for Graham who is a bit more accessible this time around via Norton's personable turn but also for the severely disturbed Dolarhyde, who is in the grip of a powerful and specific delusion; Fiennes makes the man's agony as vivid as his rage. Lecter, of course, neither wants nor receives sympathy, but Hopkins makes the demonic, wily predator as fascinating and menacing as ever. Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfect as a tabloid reporter who elicits simultaneous pity at his plight and mirth at his indefatigable sliminess.

Director Brett Ratner creates a level of tension in the opening sequences that permeates the film RED DRAGON has a wonderful sense of forward momentum. We become caught up in Graham's quest, sharing the character's excitement when he discovers something useful, at the same time that we feel genuine trepidation and sorrow (and some erotic sparks) in Dolarhyde's dangerous romance with a blind co-worker (Emily Watson, warm and sympathetic). The mystery's details intrigue anew even those viewers who are pretty well-versed in the story already. It's an ingenious puzzle that's just bloody and weird enough to be edgy for mainstream, but with the lines of good and evil drawn clearly enough to give the movie conventional underpinnings.

No one thinks twice about letting various casts and directors all try their hands at the same stage scripts RED DRAGON is a remarkably fulfilling thriller as well as proof that it's possible to retell a good scary story on film without disrespecting the original.

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