Manhunter is a American thriller film directed and written by Michael Mann. The film focuses on Graham coming out of retirement to lend his talents to an investigation on Dollarhyde, a killer known as the Tooth Fairy. In doing so, he must confront the demons of his past and meet with Lecktor, who nearly killed Graham.
Manhunter focuses on the forensic work carried out by the FBI to track down killers and shows the long-term effects that cases like this have on profilers such as Graham, highlighting the similarities between him and his quarry. The film features heavily stylized use of color to convey this sense of duality, and the nature of the characters' similarity has been explored in academic analysis of the film. It was the first film adaptation of Harris' Hannibal Lecter novels , as well as the first adaptation of Red Dragon , which later became the basis for a film of the same name in It has been reassessed in more recent reviews and now enjoys a more favorable reception, as both the acting and the stylized visuals have been appreciated better in later years.
Its resurgent popularity has seen it labelled as a cult film. Will Graham is a former FBI criminal profiler who has retired following a mental breakdown after being attacked by a serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor , whom he captured. Graham is approached at his Florida home by his former FBI superior Jack Crawford , who is seeking help with a new serial killer case.
Promising his wife that he will do nothing more than find evidence and not risk physical harm, Graham agrees to visit the most recent crime scene in Atlanta , where he tries to enter the mindset of the killer, dubbed the Tooth Fairy by the police for the bite marks left on his victims. Having found the killer's fingerprints, Graham meets with Crawford, and they are accosted by tabloid journalist Freddy Lounds. Graham pays a visit to Lecktor, a former psychiatrist, in his cell and asks for his insight into the killer's motivations.
Lecktor agrees to look at the case file. Later, Lecktor obtains Graham's home address by deceit while ostensibly making a phone call to his attorney. Graham travels to the first crime scene in Birmingham, Alabama. He is contacted by Crawford, who patches Graham through to Frederick Chilton , Lecktor's warden, who has found a note in Lecktor's personal effects.
