Ten years after his escape from custody, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is living a refined life in Florence, Italy, under the alias Dr. Fell. However, his past is about to catch up with him. Mason Verger, a wealthy and grotesquely disfigured surviving victim of Lecter, has placed a massive bounty on the doctor's head, intending to feed him to wild boars. Caught in the crossfire is disgraced FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling, who finds herself drawn into a deadly race against corrupt officials and bounty hunters to reach Hannibal first.
Information |
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Language |
English Italian |
Country |
United States United Kingdom |
Premiere date |
February 9, 2001 |
Running time |
131 minutes |
Genre |
Crime Drama Thriller Horror |
Budget |
$87,000,000 |
Box Office |
$351,692,268 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Ridley Scott |
Produced by |
Dino De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis Ridley Scott |
Written by |
David Mamet Steven Zaillian |
Music by |
Hans Zimmer |
Cinematography |
John Mathieson |
Edited by |
Pietro Scalia |
Production Co. |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Universal Pictures Scott Free Productions |
Distributed by |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #03 in The Hannibal Lecter Collection
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The Plot
The Face of the Past
The narrative begins ten years after the harrowing events of The Silence of the Lambs. At a hospital in Baltimore, Barney, a former caregiver for the criminally insane, meets with Mason Verger, a wealthy but horrifically disfigured and paraplegic man. They discuss the intimate conversations Barney once observed between Hannibal Lecter and FBI trainee Clarice Starling. Barney has brought a boxed object with him: the iconic leather restraining mask used to cover Lecter's face during his transport years ago. He offers the artifact to Verger for a price of $250,000. Verger, obsessed with his tormentor, eagerly accepts the deal.
The Fish Market Shootout
In Washington, D.C., Special Agent Clarice Starling leads a high-stakes raid to arrest Evelda Drumgo, an HIV-positive drug dealer. Although Starling has outlined a precise tactical plan, the operation descends into chaos when a trigger-happy agent rushes Drumgo and her gang, ignoring Starling's order to stand down upon seeing Drumgo holding an infant. When Starling commands a surrender, Drumgo draws a machine pistol and opens fire, striking Starling.
Reacting purely on reflex, Clarice returns fire, killing Drumgo. The impact splatters the infant with the mother's blood. In the ensuing firefight, Starling kills four other gang members, though several federal agents also lose their lives. Protected by her bulletproof vest, Clarice recovers the crying child and washes the blood from its body with a nearby hose. Despite her heroism, she faces disgrace from Justice Department official Paul Krendler, a man whose romantic advances she had rejected years prior.
Verger's Obsession
The publicity surrounding the botched drug raid brings Starling—and her historic connection to the escaped serial killer Hannibal Lecter—to the attention of Mason Verger. Verger is not only one of Lecter’s victims but also a sadistic pedophile who uses his vast wealth to fuel his vendetta. As Lecter’s fourth victim and the only one to survive his killing spree, Verger still seeks revenge. He leverages his political influence to have Starling reassigned to the Lecter case, calculating that her public involvement will draw the doctor out of hiding.
The Horror at Muskrat Farm
Starling travels to the Verger estate, Muskrat Farm, where Mason claims to possess new information—specifically an X-ray—that he will disclose only to her. Upon arrival, Verger recounts his gruesome history with the doctor. They met after Verger was convicted on multiple counts of child molestation, with Lecter assigned as his court-appointed therapist. Verger had invited Lecter to his pied-Ã -terre, intending to shock him with a noose used for auto-erotic asphyxiation. Instead, Lecter offered him an "amyl popper" which was actually a cocktail of potent hallucinogenic drugs.
Under the influence of the drugs and Lecter's suggestion, Verger sliced off his own face with a piece of mirror and fed the flesh to his dogs. Lecter then snapped Verger's neck with the noose, leaving him paralyzed. Now bedridden and confined to his mansion, Verger, with the help of his personal physician Cordell and other minions, is orchestrating an elaborate scheme to capture, torture, and feed Lecter to a herd of swine.
The Curator of Florence
In Florence, Italy, Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi investigates the disappearance of the curator of the Capponi Library, a Renaissance palace housing rare texts and art. During his inquiry, Pazzi meets the new curator, "Dr. Fell," who is actually Hannibal Lecter living in plain sight. Lecter greets Pazzi politely, claiming ignorance regarding his predecessor's location. However, in a chilling display of knowledge, Lecter notes that the Inspector is related to Francesco di Pazzi, a historical figure executed centuries ago by hanging and disembowelment. He also pointedly mentions that Pazzi was removed from the prestigious Il Mostro serial killer case.
A Scented Letter
As Verger predicted, Lecter learns of Starling's public disgrace and her return to his pursuit. He sends her a letter that is simultaneously sympathetic and mocking. While the text contains no obvious clues to his location, Starling detects a peculiar, faint fragrance on the paper. She consults experts at a perfume company, who identify the scent as a rare ambergris-based skin cream sold in only a handful of shops worldwide—one of which is located in Florence.
Pazzi's Greed
Starling requests surveillance tapes from the police departments in the cities identified by the perfume experts. When Inspector Pazzi sees his men copying a tape from the local perfumery for the FBI, he recognizes "Dr. Fell" in the footage. Suspicious, he accesses the FBI's fugitive database and confirms that the curator is indeed Hannibal Lecter. He discovers that while the FBI offers a $250,000 reward, Mason Verger has posted a $3 million bounty for anyone who helps capture Lecter alive. Blinded by greed, Pazzi decides to bypass the law. He contacts Verger’s operatives and agrees to facilitate a kidnapping. Starling, having reviewed the tapes and realized Pazzi is running background checks on Lecter, calls the Inspector to warn him against engaging the doctor alone, citing his brutal escape ten years ago. Pazzi ignores her warning.
The Pickpocket
To obtain a fingerprint for positive identification, Pazzi coerces a local pickpocket into wearing a cheap bracelet and attempting to rob Lecter. The thief follows the doctor through the Florentine streets. When he reaches for Lecter's wallet, Lecter reacts with lightning speed, grabbing the man’s wrist and slyly stabbing him in the upper leg, severing his femoral artery. Pazzi arrives to find the thief bleeding to death on the cobblestones. Ignoring the dying man, Pazzi retrieves the bracelet, which now holds Lecter's prints, and sends it to Verger, who confirms the identity.
Death at the Palazzo Vecchio
Pazzi and Verger’s men attempt to ambush Lecter following a lecture on Dante's poetry he delivers to scholars at the Palazzo Vecchio. The plan fails catastrophically. Lecter, aware of the plot to sell him, chloroforms Pazzi. The Inspector awakens strapped to a hand truck with a noose around his neck. Lecter interrogates him, forcing answers by threatening to kill and eat Pazzi’s wife. Once satisfied, Lecter recreates history: he slashes open Pazzi's abdomen and shoves him off the upper balcony. Pazzi dies hanging, disemboweled, mirroring the fate of his ancestor, Francesco. Lecter slashes the throat of a Verger henchman and escapes, deciding it is time to return to the United States to renew his acquaintance with Starling.
The Trap
Frustrated by the failure in Italy, Verger decides to use Starling as bait. He bribes Paul Krendler to accuse Clarice of withholding a note from Lecter, resulting in her suspension from the FBI. Verger's men surveil her, hoping Lecter will make contact. Lecter, having returned to the U.S., watches both Starling and Krendler. Preparing for a special occasion, he purchases fine china and crystal and steals surgical equipment from a hospital. He transports these items to a secluded lakefront house he has discovered belongs to Krendler.
Union Station
Lecter contacts Starling, luring her to Washington's Union Station. Verger’s mercenaries follow her. As she scans the crowds, she and Lecter speak via cell phone. He expresses admiration for her integrity and disdain for the FBI's shabby treatment of her, suggesting he might force her tormentors to "scream apologies." He directs her to a photo booth where she finds a gift, then hangs up, remarking that he hopes she liked the skin cream. Verger’s men spot Lecter in the parking lot and, despite Starling’s frantic attempts to intervene, subdue and kidnap him.
The Boars of Muskrat Farm
Starling tries to report Verger's scheme to the FBI, but her suspension renders her powerless. Meanwhile, the mercenaries transport Lecter to the Verger estate. Mason Verger greets his old therapist and gleefully outlines his demise: Lecter is to be eaten alive by a herd of vicious wild boars, bred and trained specifically for this purpose. Verger taunts Lecter, suggesting the doctor wishes he had fed the rest of Verger's face to the dogs years ago. Lecter calmly replies that he much prefers Verger in his current state.
The Rescue
Realizing the FBI will not act, Starling drives to Muskrat Farm alone. She arrives just as the henchmen prepare to unleash the boars. Starling shoots the guards, freeing Lecter, but is shot in the shoulder during the exchange. As the boars charge, Lecter rescues the wounded Starling. A furious Verger orders his physician, Cordell, to shoot Lecter. However, Lecter manipulates Cordell, who has long hated his abusive master. Lecter persuades him to throw Verger into the pen instead. Cordell complies, and Verger is devoured by his own pigs. Lecter assures Cordell he will take the blame for the death before carrying Starling away.
Dinner for Two
Lecter takes the unconscious Starling to Paul Krendler's lakefront house to treat her bullet wound. Early the next morning, on the 4th of July, Lecter ambushes Krendler at his home. When Starling awakens, she finds herself in an upstairs bedroom, dressed in a formal evening gown. Groggily making her way downstairs, she calls the police but ignores their instruction to flee. Entering the dining room, she finds a horrific scene: the table is set for an elegant dinner, and Paul Krendler is seated, heavily drugged but conscious.
As Starling watches in horror, Lecter removes the top of Krendler’s skull. He explains that he is removing the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with good manners. Lecter cuts a piece of the brain, sautés it in a pan at the table with shallots and capers, and feeds it to the dazed Krendler, who compliments the taste. Sickened, Clarice pleads with Lecter to stop, offering him her profile data to help him escape, but he rebukes the offer.
The Handcuffs
When Lecter wheels Krendler into the kitchen, Starling attacks him with a silver candlestick. He overpowers her easily, pinning her hair in the refrigerator door. The tension shifts as he asks, "Tell me Clarice, would you ever say to me, ‘Stop... if you loved me, you’d stop’?" She meets his gaze and replies, "Not in a thousand years." Lecter responds, "That’s my girl," and kisses her. As he pulls back to leave, he hears a metallic click. Starling has handcuffed his wrist to her own. When she refuses to yield the key, Lecter pins her wrist to the table and raises a meat cleaver, calmly stating, "This is really going to hurt."
The scene cuts to the exterior of the house as police cars arrive. Starling is standing outside, alone. Lecter has vanished, but both of Clarice's hands are intact, revealing the grim choice Lecter made to ensure his freedom.
Try New Things
The film concludes on an airplane. Hannibal Lecter sits in the cabin, his arm in a sling, his hand concealed from view. He prepares to eat a gourmet meal he has brought on board in a boxed container. A young boy seated next to him asks about the food. Lecter opens the box to reveal various delicacies, including what appears to be the remainder of Krendler's cooked brain, sliced and prepared. Intrigued, the boy asks to try it. Lecter, impressed by the child's curiosity, allows him a taste, noting that his mother always told him to try new things. As the boy eats the brain, the camera pans out, leaving the doctor to his meal.
