Forget those self-righteous folks denouncing Hannibal, sequel to Silence of the Lambs, as sick, perverted and the glorification of violence and cannibalism. Rather, consider Hannibal an educational experience! You learn a new respect for pigs, the function of the frontal lobes, historical facts about Florence, an interpretation of Dante's Inferno, tips on cooking sweetbreads. And most importantly -- the "just desserts" for a sexist, homophobic, dishonest male attorney.

Sir Anthony Hopkins reprises his 1990 Oscar-winning role as Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, M.D., the psychiatrist whose patients end up, not on his couch, but on the dinner table. Hopkins gives a bravura performance with his portrayal of the urbane, debonair, imperturbable psycho who kills and cooks with imagination and grace.

Ten years after escaping in Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Lecter lives an academic and luxury-laden life in Florence, home to the Medici, Machiavelli and Michelangelo. A Renaissance city known for its great art and high political intrigue. A principality whose rulers devised gruesome executions. A fitting environment for the good doctor, who adopts the alias "Dr. Fell" (defined as "cruel, fierce, deadly and lethal.")

News of his favorite FBI agent, the principled Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore), disrupts Lecter's tranquility. To his outrage, Lecter learns the FBI and the evil government attorney (Ray Liotta) targeted Starling as the scapegoat for a D.C. drug bust gone bad.

Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) rescues Starling from a boring desk job by sending the FBI a X-ray of Dr. Lecter. Verger acts not from public interest but personal revenge. Years back, Dr. Lecter, as a court-appointed psychiatrist, treated convicted pedophile Verger, who lured his victims with his good looks. Dr. Lecter ended Verger's predatory practice by feeding him a hallucinogen and persuading him to skin his own face. Thus disfigured, Verger looks like a ghoul. Verger, with the help of the evil government attorney, uses Starling to flush out Lecter.

Hannibal ruled the top box-office spot for three weekends after its release and continues to rank among the country's top films. And well it should. The well-crafted script displays wit and contains verbal jokes here and there (listen for "okey-dokey" and "ta ta."). The alternating gold and dark of the Florence scenes capture the city's dual nature of magnificence and cruelty. The actors portray their characters with nuance and insight. Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini captures the conflicts besetting a Florence police detective who acts on his own to turn Lecter over to Verger and collect the six-figure reward. As for Julianne Moore taking over Jodie Foster's Starling, Moore makes the role her own.

What about the gore? Hannibal proves no worse than many movies with beatings, stabbings, shootings and other murderous acts. The film contains no gratuitous violence. Still, avoid Hannibal if you're faint-of-heart and weak-of-stomach. During one scene the two teenage boys sitting beside me gasped with horror.

See Hannibal. As Lecter, Hopkins creates the supreme villain whose charisma never fails to seduce. A surprising factor adds to the attraction. In Hannibal, Dr. Lecter reveals an infinitesimal spark of humanity.

Lynn I. Miller

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