MIDDLE-AGED MATINEE! #20 - 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)

5/5 Stars

My brother Jason had a poster up on his wall that was the iconic poster for “The Silence of the Lambs”. When Jason left for college and I inherited his room, I kept the poster up and at some point in the mid-90s, my dad asked if I wanted to check the movie out as he knew I liked horror flicks and thrillers.

Well, the poster stayed up in my room after that as I loved the first movie featuring Anthony Hopkins as everyone’s favorite cannibal, Hannibal Lector.

The movie begins with a young FBI trainee named Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) as she is completing an exercise course. She is called into the office of agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glen), the head of the Behavioral Science division. Crawford seemingly wants Clarice to interview Hannibal Lector, who is incarcerated at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Starling jumps at the opportunity to interview Lector, but when she arrives, the initially nice Lector quickly turns on Starling. Lector quickly understands that what Crawford really wants is information for Buffalo Bill, a serial killer at large that has some sort of connection to Lector, and Crawford is using Clarice to get said information.

Clarice Starling faces off against Hannibal Lector in 'The Silence of the Lambs'!

After initially turning Starling away, Lector decides to give her a clue that will help with the investigation. After this, he wants a back-and-forth with Starling where he shares information that could help with capturing Buffalo Bill and she shares personal details of her life. Starling agrees and we’re off to the races.

This movie is a timeless thriller and it is just as effective today as it was back in 1991 when it came out. When I rewatch the movie, it is one of those rare times where I feel like I’m watching it for the first time because it’s just that damn good.

Director Jonathan Demme, along with cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, give the movie a timeless feel. Yes, it is a ‘90s movie, but the tone of the movie does not invoke any one time period. This is also helped by costume designer Colleen Atwood, who also designed the costumes for 1986’s “Manhunter”, the first movie to feature the character of Hannibal Lector, played brilliantly by Brian Cox.

Atwood intentionally chose clothes that would not necessarily be tied to the early ‘90s. I think this is one of the reasons that it always feels like I’m watching it for the first time.

The sets are another highlight of the movie. The famous “dungeon” set that houses Hannibal invokes a gothic vibe and makes Hannibal feel even more menacing even though he is imprisoned. It feels like he’s this thing that everyone is afraid might escape one day so they put him in the deepest, darkest hole they could find.

Anthony Hopkins plays the deranged Hannibal Lector in 'The Silence of the Lambs'!

For the first 15 minutes or so of the movie, we’re only hearing about Hannibal and how dangerous he is. On the way to see the mad doctor, the Hospital’s warden Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald) shows Starling a photo of a nurse that Hannibal assaulted and the look on Starling’s face says it all: we’re about to meet a monster.

Then, when we finally do encounter Hannibal, there he is standing in the middle of the cell, seemingly waiting for Starling with a slight smile and wild eyes on his face. He’s very gentlemanly at first before he realizes Crawford’s true motives for sending Starling his way.

After that, he breaks down Starling mentally and shows the psychological monster that he can be. Then, he turns the charm back on and is impressed with Starling’s bravery in spite of her fear of him. They form a relationship of sorts when they begin giving information back and forth.

Hopkins won the Academy Award for Best Actor in this movie and for good reason. There are times where we get glimpses of a charming doctor, a mask that hides the true monster that lies just underneath. His unblinking stare and firm stance reveal that this is not a normal man. As they say in the film… they don’t know what to call him.

It was this film that truly solidified my fandom for Hopkins and he quickly became one of my favorite actors.

Ted Levine plays Buffalo Bill in 'The Silence of the Lambs'!

He’s not alone, though. I do feel like Hopkins’ performance and status today as Hannibal Lector did overshadow Foster as Clarice Starling. Foster is fantastic as Clarice, a confident FBI agent in training who also has a vulnerability due to her being a new agent and due to some of the things we discover that she reveals to Hannibal. There is a motive and backstory for why she wants to work for the FBI and it is just as engaging as the present day story being told.

The chemistry between Foster and Hannibal is undeniable and though this is most definitely not a love story, there is a relationship that forms out of their time together that feels genuine. I think this is what also helped Foster win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

In fact, this is the third and most recent film to win all five major categories at the Academy. In addition to Best Actor and Actress, the movie also won for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. It is also considered the first horror film to win the coveted Best Picture. This is one of those rare times where I can say that a film earned all of its awards.

Hannibal Lector is no less terrifying simply because he's locked up.

The movie is a timeless classic gothic horror thriller. It is one of those rare movies where everything came together to create a truly engaging thriller with great direction, cinematography, and performances.

If by some chance you’ve never seen it, you need to correct that oversight. If you have seen it, it may be time for a revisit to a particular hospital for the criminally insane.

P.S. - Of course, the movie generated a film series. The movie was followed in 2001 by a sequel named “Hannibal” and a prequel in 2002 called “Red Dragon”, both based on novels by Thomas Harris. I actually do recommend these films as “Hannibal” has its own style and interesting scenes and “Red Dragon” serves as a great prequel to the events of this film.

Also, in 1986, director Michael Mann directed “Manhunter”, the first attempt at adapting “Red Dragon”. While it is not as solid of an adaptation of the source material, I absolutely love this movie and may actually prefer it over the 2002 film though I like both. As I mentioned above, it stars Brian Cox as the first actor to ever play Hannibal on screen and he does a great job while William Peterson is fantastic as FBI Agent Will Graham.

There is a prequel film called “Hannibal Rising”, but I’ve since deleted it from my brain as it should be left in the dustbin of film history. Everything else, though, I say give ‘em a chance!