I feel this is one of the rare genuine emotions he shows in the entire show
yeah i need to talk about this for a minute. i feel to some, mikkelsen’s performance as hannibal can seem quite stoic and austere and perhaps too cold for people to see just how seriously freaking good it is. i think we can all appreciate the character - but it is another matter to really see his portrayal of lecter for the tour-de-force that it is. and, though this might sound uppity, i feel this particular performance is best taken in the context of mads’ work - because as an actor he is in fact the opposite of what he emotes on this show. it is an actor’s job to play whoever they’re given in all walks of life, but very few are able to nail the range it takes to play both a man and a monster with such ease and such startling difference. most actors have tricks they rely upon that are common in every character they play. mikkelsen is one of the few exceptions i have ever seen to that rule.
in the few films in which he’s been upstanding, decent men, they are typically lonely, giving, romantic and vulnerable - and, at one point or another, completely broken. his characters in jagten and elsker dig for edvit are, i think, the best examples of this aptitude he has for the shattering ability to be worn down to nothing but bone and it is spread bare for all of us to see. he is an incredibly naturalistic actor as well, in every language he has performed in (even in one movie as a russian person speaking french even though he doesn’t speak russian or french like what) - but hannibal’s demeanor is forced and cold and unnatural. his speech patterns tend to be awkward and deadpan, unlike his other english-speaking performances. i just hope that this particular moment in that one gif above helps to emphasize how this entire saga of lecter so far has been about restraint - for the character, obviously, but also for mikkelsen’s talent. to see such an emotive, intense individual stuffing a beast into a suit and tie and hiding behind such a tight mask is such a testament to his mikkelsen’s gift. if it’s the only piece of mads’ filmography you ever see, it’s a fantastic performance. but if you put it in the context of his other work, it’s very possible that hannibal lecter is the jewel in the crown of his career.
