THE SILENCE
In Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the
OF THE LAMBS
Directed by Jonathan Demme;
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jodie
Foster; 1991
It’s hard to believe Anthony Hopkins is
the second actor to portray Dr.
Hannibal Lecter on screen, the first
being Brian Cox in Manhunter (1986).
Despite an underrated performance by
Brian Cox as the original Hannibal
Lecter, Anthony Hopkins in The Silence
of the Lambs is by far the creepiest,
spine-chilling, and impeccable horror
performance in the history of cinema.
This leads to the question: What makes
Hannibal Lecter the most frightening
fictitious character in movie history? The
answer is very simple, he’s human. Dr.
Lecter is not the Hollywood’s version of a
notorious villain. For instance, dream-
killer (Freddy Kruger in A Nightmare on
Elm Street) and a seven foot tall man
with a ski mask (Jason Voorhees in
Friday the thirteen). Dr. Lecter
specializes in Forensic Psychiatry and
thus can manipulate one’s
consciousness with a profound
psychological impact.
Lambs (1991) the plot unfolds as several
women are kidnapped and killed across
the Midwest of America. Young FBI
student Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is
given the job of interviewing Dr. Lecter
at an asylum in Virginia in order to
extract possible information from him
about “Buffalo Bill.”
Jodie Foster’s character of Clarice
Starling is still very new to the world of
being an FBI agent, she's quite nervous
in her approach but as the film
progresses you see her building in
confidence and really believing in her
own ability to succeed in the field.
There's definitely a change in the
character of Clarice from the beginning
to the end of the film, so much happens
to this woman and in being involved in
really helps her to mature. Jodie Foster is
not at the same league as Anthony
Hopkins in terms of acting; however
Jodie is still greatly believable as Clarice.
With a little over 16 minutes of screen
time in The Silence of the Lambs,
Anthony Hopkins became the first Best
Actor Oscar with the shortest time.
Lastly, Clarice Starling is regarded by the
American Film Institute as the greatest
heroine in American cinema.
Javier Serrano is the founder of
Monte Pictures and currently holds a
history degree from National
University.