The nature of the beast

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2012)

IMDb Top 250: 26
Some films grab you in the first scene. Some grab you later on, and well some films don't grab you at all. The Silence of the Lambs gets your attention before you sit don to see it. It grabs you before you even think about seeing it. That's because the title alone is interesting: poetic, graceful, yet sinister. So you look it up, and the premise is more... dangerous... than the title even: An FBI trainee confides in an incarcerated, cannibalistic murderer to catch another serial killer who skins women. Wow. That's heavy stuff- now how does it relate to lambs? And from there you're hooked. Some books don't make good film material. The Silence of the Lambs made a masterpiece.
It's no secret- the film is extraordinary. One of only 3 films to win all the 'major' Oscars (and personally it's the best of them), 'Silence' practically started the modern dark-crime sub genre. From Seven to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it can all be traced back to this, and with good reason. Based on excellent source material, which I finished yesterday and will draw on later, The Silence of the Lambs has been imitated, parodied and drawn from an impossible amount of times, but the original still stands on its own.
I've already mentioned the exquisite plot, a great mystery, or thriller, or horror, or however you define it. A huge success of the film is its atmosphere, a very dark, draining world. This is achieved through dark colours, small sets, and a haunting score by Howard Shore that is equally influential, even in his own later work like Seven. It never takes the credit, but constantly accompanies the action.
The Academy will tell you how excellent the characters are. At the forefront are the two winners, Clarice and Lecter. I believe Clarice to be arguably the greatest female heroine ever. She is strong and determined, work-oriented in her male dominated world. But at the same time she can show vulnerability and fear. It's amazing. I'm glad the sub-subplot of her mild romance was removed. Hannibal Lecter. There's a name you won't forget, nor a face you'll forget. It's all been said before: Anthony Hopkins delivered one of the most legendary performances in cinema history as the charming and terrifying doctor. His facial expressions, his voice, his choice of words, even his posture. A perfect example of quality over quantity. The scenes these two share are very intense, with closeups. Lots of closeups.
There's three other characters worth mentioning: Crawford, Starling's mentor, is the likable and work focused head of the Buffalo Bill case. While he suffered the most loss in transfer from book to screen, as well as the whole plot of his wife being removed, he is still likable, due to an honest performance. On the other hand, Chilton, the asylum doctor, is an absolute slimeball. He's a great character, but something about the portrayal is off. Lastly, and the most important one, Buffalo Bill, Jame Gumb. He is the single most terrifying, creepiest villain in fiction. He was scary in the book and in the film he'll make your stomach churn. The voice and look, and unbelievably freaky, scary, disturbing dance mark a CRIMINALLY underrated performance by Ted Levine, who I cannot see in any other role now. He IS Buffalo Bill.
The first time I saw the film, one key thing I remember is the patience the film exhibits. Coarse language is used only when necessary, but more importantly is how violence and gore is treated. The book wasn't a gorefest, but there were ample opportunities for shock violence, like the picture of the nurse or the autopsy room. For the most part, the visual is held back, until that one sequence, and you'll know what I mean, when everything is gruesomely put on the table, and into your mind is burned several terrible images. Great films have patience, and this is a great film.
I usually don't read source material, but I had to read this one. I'm not used to it, so I don't know how much films usually cut out from their books. But 'Silence' is very true to the core of the novel. The screenplay cuts out what you might expect: character development and history, as well as Bella, Klaus, the media and Southern angles, and unfortunately (for me) Barney and Bill's story. The film is short, just under 2 hours, but even with these shortcuts maintains the slow pace of the book. However the adaptation is very faithful to the book, and rises above in some places.
Some scenes are handled much better with visuals. Lecter's cell is much better with glass instead of bars and nylon mesh (?), and the key sequence in Tennessee is spectacular, with the violence. And the ambulance, let to the imagination in the book, leaves viewers is absolute terror.
Bookended by a great opening and closing, The Silence of the Lambs marks a milestone in film. It is an influential modern classic with brain and brawn, amazing performances and characters, and a smart plot. It's an icon of the genre, and a must see. 9.4/10