Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs understands the right elements to make a truly terrifying villian and wraps that knowledge in a sophisticated thriller, but misses the boat for everything else. To make Hannibal Lector work is to make him not repulsive first and foremost, but instead engaging. Anthony Hopkins adds charm and delicacy to the role when Brian Cox just played it staight for Manhunter. Then there is Lector's situation in the film. Most of the time he is locked up and unable to harm anyone, but he is terrifying the more you get to know him. The closeness creates fear and removes the knowledge he can't hurt you from your brain because you only imagine what he could do to you if he was free. The way the film trickles around this idea makes it a superior scare, but there are deeper themes it shows nods to without delving into. Clarice Sterling and Hannibal Lector get to know each other and begin to become drawn to each other. The audience takes notice of their similarity of their past situations. Then the script makes a direct reference by Lector saying, "People would think we were in love" in one scene. Jonathan Demme said he was conscious about the similarities but didn't do enough to distinguish it. To his credit, he was able to win a Best Picture Oscar anyways, but the film doesn't have enough of an emotional core to really merit the acclaim. Silence of the Lambs is one of only three films to win the top 5 Oscar awards of its year. The film is many good things, but mostly being a "psychological thriller" is kind of a let down.