The Silence of the Lambs
Bottom Line: Quite possibly the greatest thriller ever made.
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.” –Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, M.D.
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Brooke Smith, Frankie Faison, Jodie Foster, Lawrence A. Bonney, Masha Skorobogatov, Scott Glenn, Stuart Rudin, Ted Levine, Tracey Walter
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a tastefully grim, unforgivably suspenseful thriller. Opening up, it is simply harmless, with absolutely nothing that would so much as foreshadow any particularly violent plot until at least fifteen minutes through. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a trainee for the FBI, who seems reluctant but ultimately willing to do her job. Starling is sent on a case that involves hunting down a serial killer nicknamed “Buffalo Bill” (Ted Levine), who flays his victims to sew skin suits for himself. Yet little information about him other than the vague newspaper articles. Carefully, Starling confides in Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist and manipulative criminal who is imprisoned for cannibalism. Lecter has a connection with “Buffalo Bill”–one of his patients, murdered before the film’s story begins, was good friends with “Buffalo Bill”–and steadily hints Starling to where she needs to be.
It’s a bit of a surprise that the film is a heavy study of not one, but two complex characters. The film is such a deep analysis, it makes classic thrillers such as Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO and John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN seem shallow; I dare say that “Buffalo Bill” and Hannibal Lecter are two of the most important antagonists in the history of all thrillers, and as such a prudent examination, the film itself is underappreciated. It’s quite possible that Hopkins’s career began to slowly take a downhill route by the 21st century, with roles in fiascos such as HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, BEOWULF, and THE RITE, but he delivered nothing but a mighty fine effort back in 1991. We hardly notice that his appearance adds up to less than twenty minutes because he surrounds the entire film as such an important character, and the uneasy results of his appearance leaves distasteful aftereffects long after we’ve moved on from him.
“I’m having an old friend for dinner.” –Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, M.D.
Essentially, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a thriller, but it’s made with the blood of a horror film and the genetic makeup of a crime film. Aside from the insidiously menacing Dr. Lecter and the crooked “Buffalo Bill”, the film isn’t very frightening, but it “silently” builds up enough suspense to make the ending an eight-minute shock. I must say, I was quite shaken up by the utterly frightful finale. Once the meaning behind the film’s title and famous poster art is learned, the heart begins to beat savagely, as well. I have not yet read Thomas Harris’s pulp novel upon which THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is based, but after unearthing this picture, a masterfully directed and edited criterion, there is no doubt I shall seek it out.
But I must wonder: have the lambs stopped screaming?
I really love this movie. I agree with everything you stated save for one thing. The best thriller ever made that is similar to this in my opinion is “Se7en”. There is just as much chemistry between actors, just as intense, a little deeper, and the climax is just wow. This is close though. Great review.
Thanks! I was surprised, quite truly. I really love Alfred Hitchcock, but I never expected I would love this, a merely Hitchcockian work, more than any given film from his career. I hope to see Hannibal and Red Dragon (Hannibal Rising, ehhh) sometime soon.
We saw it many years ago /- I’m
Still scared of the final scene in the dark when Dr Lector and Jodie seemed so unfairly matched in that deadly duel.
And sometimes I look carefully at the ceiling of a certain small elevator as it ascends from the dark garage to the silent 5th floor….
Haha now that you’ve pointed it out your connection with the scene where (the cop dressed as) Hannibal Lecter falls out the fifth floor elevator ceiling does seem a bit spooky!
I’m not that smart about movies but it must have seen a post hypnotic suggestion!
Silence came out in Feb of 1991.
We bought our condo on the 5th floor 6 months later….
We are fortunate to have survived
10 thousand trips up those 5 floors !!!
I find it ironic that not only the movie came out in February, it came out VALENTINE’S DAY.
Gotta respect producers with a sick sense of humor. Great review, no matter how many Jokers appear in modern cinema they will still only be a footnote in comparison to Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector. I was a little sad to see so many sequels to the film that failed to measure up to the standard set by SOTL, but even in weaker films Hopkins’ chilling portrayal of the character remains a benchmark of success for modern Horror antagonists.
I too have heard murmurs of another Elementary-esque TV series surrounding the character, and I can only hope that a lust for cash by studio executives won’t tarnish the character’s reputation
Well, you can’t really expect three sequels to be as great as this, can you? And I’m actually excited for the TV adaptation. But yeah, let’s hope it doesn’t kill his character.
The best Hannibal film
A classic. Foster, Hopkins and Demme were great.
I agree. Doesn’t surprise me that it’s one of the only film’s EVER to win the five most prestigious Oscars (along with It Happened One Night and Ome Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest). I plan on watching Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising soon, and I’m anticipating the upcoming TV series–even though it’s just guaranteed to be bad.
I’ve seen bits of Red Dragon and at least the acting is good. Had no idea there’s going to be a TV series!
Yeah I’m going to set my expectations pretty low. They’re replacing Hopkins again for the TV series. The guy who played Lecter in Hannibal Rising was Gaspard Ulliel, but I forget who’s playing him this time. Nobody I’d heard of for that matter.
I just checked and Lecter will be played by Mads Mikkelsen. He is very good!
You seem to know a lot more actors than I do.
That was supposed to be ONE Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. So autocorrect changes “Travolta” to “Tea Okra” but won’t change “ome” to “one”? Lol I’ll never forget that…
Haha, that was so random.
Great post, I read somewhere that Hopkins is only onscreen for a very short time but still manages to pull off a chilling performance.
Yup. Sixteen minutes.
So excited to see this. I’m including this in my Book Vs. Film series.
http://randomfilmbuff.com/2012/08/07/d-9/
I haven’t read the novel but I’m dying to! Looking forward to what you write.
P.S. Your name’s Alley, is it? It seems I know too many of you.