There are underdogs and there are underrated performances. Neither Sir Anthony Hopkins, nor any of his performances fits into any of the aforementioned categories. One of his roles did come under the radar. But, thanks to improvisation by Anthony, he ended up winning an Oscar for a role which was close to being considered as Cameo.
Problems for Sir Anthony
When Sir Anthony Hopkins was asked to ape Dr Hannibal Lecter in the movie “The Silence of the Lambs”, it was supposed to be a headache to prepare himself for the role. Dr Lecter is a brilliant psychiatrist, which makes it look easy to prepare for the role. You just have to mug up a few books and talk to the best in the business for maybe around 50 hours. Despite that if there is some vacuum, Sir Anthony, being well acclaimed in Hollywood, especially the USA would fill that with his experience.
But there was a problem. The problem was that Dr Lecter is a psychiatric patient as well. He is well-known for killing humans and consuming them. This makes him deadlier than the worst serial killers in history. Additionally, serial killers are known for their charming and trustworthy look. Sir Anthony did not have that as his skin had wrinkles at the time that role was offered to him.
Suspense building up to introduction
Sir Anthony analysed and compensated for these weaknesses by changing the way serial killers are perceived among the masses. The way the script proceeds also played a key role in it.
Moviemakers did not introduce Dr Hannibal in the first brush. Instead, before showing his face, every important character of the movie is seen talking about the deadliness of the Cannibal doctor.
Jack Crawford, head of Behavioural Science Unit of FBI, briefs his trainee Clarice Starling by saying, “Believe me, you don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.” In subsequent scenes, Starling is abridged by Dr Friedrick Chalton that once Hannibal had eaten the tongue of a nurse without his heartbeat crossing 85 during that time.
Along with Clarice, the audience too is excited to see his face. This is where Sir Anthony’s brilliance comes into action. Normally, when such characters are played on screen, they are shown as mad people without any control over their mind and body. These characters are shown to have both neurological and bodily disorders. The build-up of Clarice’s meeting with Hannibal was also the same. She is shown walking beside the most draconian prison cells. All of the inmates are shown behaving in abnormally violent ways.
Opposite to expectation
Expecting the same, Clarice walks to the cell housing Hannibal. Only to find a stoic man standing with calm demeanour. He was standing at the precise centre of the cell. It was Sir Anthony’s idea to do that. When quizzed about the reason, he had said, “I can smell her. ”
The stoicism and calm demeanour were also Sir Anthony’s idea. He wanted to show that evil is not different, but a part of humanity. Evil people are average citizens who show their evilness in particular circumstances. Sir Anthony based his body language on one of his teachers at Royal Academy. According to Sir Anthony, his smirk was good enough for people to obey his orders. Hannibal, played by Sir Anthony, had the same effect on people near him, especially Clarice.
Lion in love with meat before eating it
Clarice is flabbergasted, which is reflected in the way she trembles while speaking with him. Hannibal looks deep into her eyes while communicating. This too was Sir Anthony’s idea to make eye contact for more than 10 seconds. In turn, he did not even blink. Within 2 minutes, Clarice develops a certain kind of comfort with his promise to not harm her.
This kind of comfort is the reason why without lifting any arm, Hannibal entices a fellow inmate to commit suicide. Simply with the flow of his uttered words, the audience is hooked on to the screen. The instant gear shift from a slow speaking and confident psychiatrist to a madman rushing people to act is something which only Sir Anthony could master.
Dr Lectre’s character is a lion hunting for meat. Sir Anthony made it look like a lion in love with his hunt before eating it. Incredibly, he admitted that he did not put effort into it. His decades of experience and penchant for people’s test paid off. At the end, his extremely short screen time did not hinder him from giving his best and helped him clench an Oscar for that.
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