It feels kind of out of place with the rest of the movie, which has this gritty true crime feel running throughout it, but then we see this guy attempt this wild escape and execute it flawlessly. It just felt far too convenient to be believable.
shareYeah that always spoiled the film for me. Contrast it to the brutally effective way Brian Cox's Lector almost gets Will murdered in Manhunter. Saying this I rewatched it recently and after (finally) accepting it's ridiculousness I could just enjoy how well the scene (and the rest of the film) is put together.
shareI think he was making a statement. He probably could have gotten away at any time but this was dramatic.
shareThe dealings with Hannibal himself wasn't really true crime feeling, he was treated more like some kind of mythical monster than as merely a highly intelligent killer. The glass cage, the mask, his way of talking, reaction of staff to him in general, he was never a true crime style character. So why would a character handled in such a fanciful way escape in a boring way?
shareThis makes more sense.
The problem lies that the premise and everything else including Hannibal himself is pretty realistic.
BOOK SPOILER ALERT! BOOK SPOILER ALERT!
In the book, Hannibal had numerous magazines and documents sent to him. The official reason was he liked the publicity. The real reason, though, was he wanted to get paper clips, staples, anything he could make an artificial handcuff key out of. He knew the orderlies (Barny in particular) would thoroughly search anything sent to him, he also knew, though, it was a matter of time before something slipped by. As time passed things did, Hannibal built his key and waited until the opportunity presented itself. After escaping Hannibal withdrew money from a secret bank account and was gone.
I thought in the book, he had to wait until after he was transferred out of Barney's care, who searched everything. It was the new guards who slipped up.
shareActually, the person who screwed everything up was Dr. Chilton. He wanted to be known as the person who got Hannibal to cooperate. Little did he know Hannibal was getting HIM to get Hannibal to cooperate.
shareIn the book, Hannibal had numerous magazines and documents sent to him. The official reason was he liked the publicity. The real reason, though, was he wanted to get paper clips, staples, anything he could make an artificial handcuff key out of. He knew the orderlies (Barny in particular) would thoroughly search anything sent to him, he also knew, though, it was a matter of time before something slipped by. As time passed things did, Hannibal built his key and waited until the opportunity presented itself. After escaping Hannibal withdrew money from a secret bank account and was gone.
in the book, he had to wait until after he was transferred out of Barney's care, who searched everything. It was the new guards who slipped up.You both are correct. In the movie Lecter constructs the handcuff key out of one of Chilton's pens--and how Lecter gets a hold of it we don't know--while in the book he fashions it out of a pen and a paper clip, both of which slip through into his cell over the years, and on Barney's days off. And Thomas Harris makes it clear that a major reason why Lecter agrees to help Starling catch Buffalo Bill is knowing that he will be transferred to a jail with laxer security, which would enable him to escape. share
In the movie Lecter gets Chilton's pen because Chilton left it in his cell. We see Chilton in Lecter's cell telling on Starling about the fake deal. Chilton is seen playing with the pen and at one point Chilton leaves it on Lecter's cot. Lecter eyes it up and make an exhaling noise when he sees it. That's when Lecter said he'd only tell the senator in Baltimore, knowing that it would put him in a less secure situation to take advantage of.
shareWhich is why they let out the details.
shareLector’s escape is a highlight. The film flits between docu-realism and almost abstract expressionism with deliberate absurdities like Lecter’s dungeon setting, and it’s not beyond cheap genre thrills with red herring fake-outs and a night-vision chase. I found the escape to be clever and daring, a long-shot, sure, but Lecter is a formidable creature so it seemed fitting that he could pull off something so awesome and diabolical.
well said
shareOf course it is implausible and highly stupid. Just like taking a trainee out of class to do serious profile work just because she happens to have a double major in psych. 1/3 of FBI candidates probably have a psych major.
As somebody who actually worked in a prison for 10 years as a nurse I can tell you the escape scene is moronic. There would be cameras all over the place and safeguards in place that would make that impossible.
There is also no need for holes in the glass for ventilation. There is no way a dangerous person like Hannibal would be talking alone with some trainee either. There would be a corrections officer right there with her and that officer would be the one to pass papers to him.
He did not escape from a prison. Please watch the movie.
shareShe wasn't sent only because she was a psych major. She was attractive, intelligent, and Clarice's boss thought Lector might take a liking to her and open up a bit, which he did.
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