In an improvement from last week’s lull arrives Buffet Froid
– an aptly named episode as this week’s combination of scares, graphic imagery
and complex mental health issues create an altogether chilling affair.
In a pre-credit sequence we are introduced to Beth LeBeau,
wondering around her house in the depths of the night attempting to fix various
household issues keeping her awake. The use of a torch to emphasise shadows,
various close ups on insignificant features and her nonchalant manner as she
roams her creepy residence is a set up we are all too familiar with – we continuously
watch the peripherals of the shot waiting for the inevitable bogeyman (whatever
its guise) to emerge and cause her demise. When LeBeau returns to her room
ready to get back into bed, she notices a trail leading under it, sure enough she
is pulled under in a manner of all horror clichés, followed by a spurt of
assumingly her blood. Ladies and gentleman, I believe we have just been
introduced to our serial killer of the week and one, that we soon realise at
the crime scene, defaces victims by giving them what is referred to as a Glasgow
Smile.
Returning to the crime scene, Will Graham discovers the
person responsible, once again lingering under the bed in a genuinely eerie sequence. It is a revelation cleverly
executed as each horror technique is used to maximum effect heightening the intensity and resultant scares – be it the enveloping darkness or a slow camera pan to scan the
room, I've said it before and I’ll say it again, Bryan Fuller knows how to do
horror. The person under the bed is Georgia, a young woman who suffers with
Cotard’s Syndrome - a mental condition that causes a person to detach from reality
and disconnect from their own body. As a result, Georgia believes herself to be
dead, all of which is underpinned by her inability to see faces, thus
explaining her reason for disfiguring them. It also explains her extremely malnourished and somewhat zombified demeanor.
Obviously using all sense of the word, any serial killer
that has featured in this series could be deemed mentally unstable. However
Georgia’s condition particularly resonates with the narrative in that she holds
certain parallels to the mental condition of Graham – the question of which is
central to this episode. Akin to Georgia, he too feels he is “fading” and his
sense of self-awareness is increasingly dilapidating. In fact in the episode’s
most disorientating moment, boasting a particularly graphic sensibility (lots of
blood), a scene cuts from Graham gutting a fish to seriously contaminating the LeBeau
crime scene.
Yet unlike Georgia, Graham knows he is alive and continuously
attempts to ground himself in reality by conducting certain self-help
techniques suggested by Dr. Lecter. The first of which is to draw the face of a
clock, stipulating what time it is. In another shocking moment of this episode, we realise just how spatially disorientated Graham is upon seeing his drawings. The second self-help technique is to state the time, your location
and who you are. This attempt to stay connected with reality is perhaps why
Graham reaches out to Georgia and holds her hand. As a result, what at first appeared to
be a decisively creepy sequence ultimately transgressed into one of the most
beautiful and touching moments of this series.
There is a reason for Graham’s mental fragility however, and
after meeting with Dr. Sutcliffe, a friend of Lecter’s, we discover Graham has
in fact got encephalitis – a condition responsible for his headaches,
hallucinations and loss of time. This diagnosis leads to a physiology and
psychology dichotomy. Encephalitis is treatable and Graham has a chance of
getting better, however if he does, Lecter may as well say goodbye to his
beloved friend and psychological guinea pig. So naturally, with Lecter at the
helm, psychology prevails and Sutcliffe retains the diagnosis from Graham,
declaring there is nothing neurologically unsound. With Sutcliffe alive
however, there is always a chance that the true diagnosis will come to
fruition. It is no surprise therefore that Lecter proceeds to deface Sutcliffe with a Glasgow Smile. But boy does he, in the episode’s final sequence, we cut to Georgia walking in on Lecter mid-defacement. Originally shrouded beneath a mentally unstable woman evoking sadness and sympathy, Lecter brings the violent act into a new light via pure savagery and carefully added sound effects - quite the contrast to elegant dinner parties (although he still manages to wear a suit). Nevertheless the interaction between himself and Georgia is brilliantly conceived. Despite
the lack of dialogue and well...faces, the moment is incredibly evocative. 
Hiding the diagnosis elicits Lecter with complete control
over Graham’s identity and mental stability – granting manipulation at the
deepest and most psychological level. Why? Well, intentions are ambiguous, but
whilst conversing with Sutcliffe we achieve a small understanding of Lecter’s
fascination with Graham, in particular his “beautiful” and “remarkably wild
imagination”. Through manipulation, Lecter is setting Graham's “mind on fire” but as
Sutcliffe questions, “how far does this go? Do you put out the fire or let it
burn?” With only a few episodes left... i'm sure we will soon find out the answer.
It's 17:06... I'm sat at my laptop... and I am in love with this show. Once again this week's episode was simply adding fuel to a totally different fire than that of Graham's (in)sanity. In addition to carefully broaching the topic of mental health, Buffet Froid is yet another example of Hannibal's brilliant script and performances, top cinematography and a well managed, complex plot. Bloody good job then, that NBC have renewed it for a second season.
What were your thoughts on this week's episode? Post a comment!
Up next...
No comments:
Post a Comment