Why the TV remake of ‘Clarice’ is an insult to the original
SERIOUSLY, why would CBS attempt a remake of The Silence of the Lambs?
The network has been tackling remakes with unmistakable gusto. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, provided that it does the original justice.
CBS failed to learn anything from the flop that is The Equalizer, with Queen Latifah. The TV series misfired for several reasons, among those were the mediocre storylines and terribly lame action.
If anything, it got pity views largely due to Latifah’s involvement. Of course, this is more of a testament to star-clout once again providing a safety net.
This brings me to Clarice, which sees Australian actress Rebecca Breeds slipping into Jodie Foster’s iconic role as Clarice Starling.
Before delving into this TV remake, there are a few things I would like to point out.
Jonathan Demme’s 1991 psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs is celebrated as one of the greatest and most influential films of all time.
Based on Thomas Harris’s novel of the same title, the film, while terribly disturbing, was also compelling. And it cleaned up at the Oscars, too.
Anthony Hopkins as Dr Hannibal Lecter, an exceptional psychologist as well as cannibalistic serial killer, and Foster as Clarice Starling, a fresh-out-of-the-academy recruit to the FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit, will forever be remembered for one of their finest performances.
The movie made Empire’s 500 greatest movies of all time – it ranked at 48 – and it was listed as the fifth-greatest and most influential thriller movie by The American Film Institute.
This psychological thriller was truly in a league of its own, from the scriptwriting and casting to the directing.
And it is for this reason that a remake of The Silence of the Lambs, especially for a TV series, should be done with careful consideration.
In 2013, NBC released Hannibal with Mads Mikkelsen delivering an impeccable performance as Hannibal Lector while Hugh Dancy was cast as a gifted criminal profiler, Will Graham.
The series was a hit. The writers wonderfully blurred the line between right and wrong with the two characters. They looked at inner darkness versus inner goodness.
It ended after three seasons but with mostly favourable reviews.
Unfortunately, I don’t see making such strides. Of the two episodes I’ve watched so far, I struggled
