“Hannibal” got here first, and did it better.
CBS‘ new “The Silence of the Lambs” sequel “Clarice” (premiering Thursday, 10 EST/PST, ★★ out of four) joins a long line of attempts to adapt the Thomas Harris novels about a cannibal and a young FBI agent. But while some adaptations, like NBC’s 2013-15 “Hannibal” and the celebrated 1991 Jonathan Demme film, are stunning works that elevate the grisly subject matter, “Clarice” simply doesn’t match the potential of the characters and stories.
“Clarice,” which turns the heroine of “Lambs” into the lead of a procedural cop show, has all the depravity of the film with none of the artistry. Without the trappings of Hannibal and friends, there might be a good show here about the FBI in the 1990s. But instead, “Clarice” feels like a cheap knockoff that squanders its source material.
Set in 1993, after the events of the film, the new series follows FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling – Rebecca Breeds takes on the role Jodie Foster played in the movie – in her work as she recovers from the trauma of her encounter with serial killer Buffalo Bill.
Struggling to shake off her post-traumatic stress disorder in therapy, Starling is called to Washington by new Attorney General Ruth Martin (Jayne Atkinson), the former senator whose daughter Starling saved from Bill. Ruth sticks Clarice on “VICAP,” the FBI’s new elite violent crimes unit, much to the chagrin of the group’s commanding officer, Agent Paul Krendler (Michael Cudlitz), who thinks she’s a dumb rookie who got lucky once. Her fellow agents are slow to warm to her.
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“Clarice” attempts to connect to “Silence” through a relentless series of hallucinations and flashbacks. Moths are everywhere. The score is oppressively tense and screechy. The series is shot as though lights were a luxury it just couldn’t afford. Stomach-churning scenes repeatedly portray Clarice’s ordeal with “Lambs” serial killer Buffalo Bill (who’s often seen sewing human skin), a gratuitous way to add horror thrills to a drama that doesn’t really require them.
It’s hard to see the intention of “Clarice” from the first five episodes made available for review. Four deal with what appears to be a long-term mystery about a potential murder conspiracy. One is a closed-ended story about a Waco-like compound in a standoff with the FBI. The varying structure of each episode only adds to the show’s overall identity crisis.
There might be decent cop show beneath the layers of aggressive stylization. Writers are more willing to address racism than many similar network cop shows through Ardelia Mapp (Devyn Tyler), a Black agent who struggles in grunt assignments while Clarice enjoys a meteoric rise through the bureau. But constantly linking it to the Hannibal story is a reach, undermining what makes the series unique.
But through the mess of moths and unbearable moodiness, it’s hard to see anything else.
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