mvb@eagle.mit.edu (Mary V. Burke) (02/11/91)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A film review by Mary V. Burke
Copyright 1991 Mary V. Burke
Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, et al.;
directed by Jonathan Demme.
I had the great pleasure of attending a sneak preview of THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS here in Boston last night, courtesy of Premiere
magazine, and let me not mince words--it's one of the best
horror/suspense movies I've ever seen, and you should go see it the
moment it opens. Period.
For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the novel by
Thomas Harris on which the film is based, the plot centers around the
search for a serial killer called Buffalo Bill who has been leaving a
trail of partially flayed women's bodies. The FBI Behavioral Science
Unit is on the case, and is hoping to enlist the aid of another serial
killer currently in custody, the brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter
(the old "Set a thief to catch a thief" tactic). Clarice Starling, an
FBI trainee, is assigned to talk to him, and they develop an eerie sort
of partnership in which he trades his insights on Buffalo Bill for
glimpses into Clarice's soul.
I went into this movie with very high expectations, having read the
book several times (and it is one hell of a good one), along with many
others dealing with serial killer syndrome, factual and fictional. And
I must say that, even though I knew what was going to happen and how
everything would end, Demme's treatment was thoroughly gripping,
suspenseful, and *scary*. There are some scenes that are rather
disturbing, albeit not terribly graphic in the sense of large amounts
of blood spraying around the room--just grim and gritty. There are
some alterations to the story, but not really material ones; generally
it's quite faithful to the novel, and hangs together very well. One
moment in the search that seems like a complete anticlimax proves to be
anything but that, and Demme engineers it so skillfully that you don't
know for sure until the very last instant ... I don't want to give away
any more about this bit, though.
The performances are uniformly fine. Jodie Foster gives us a
character who is ambitious, smart, and strong, but is still working to
gain mastery of herself, and to keep it in the company of a spiritual
vampire like Lecter. I was a bit leery of Anthony Hopkins as Lecter,
having seen Brian Cox's portrayal in MANHUNTER (based on Harris's
previous novel, RED DRAGON), but he doesn't disappoint at all. His
version of Lecter captures very well the creepy elegance of a brilliant
but utterly twisted mind that thrives on reaching into other people's
souls and finding where they hurt. There are a couple of places in the
script where he lapses into cruelty laced with a crudeness that was a
little jarring for me, as this isn't quite in keeping with Harris's
portrayal of the character, but these weren't seriously detrimental.
The scenes between him and Starling are full of tension, psychological
sparring carried on through the glass or barred walls of Lecter's
cages; the places where he is imprisoned are very medieval-looking,
and while he sits quietly inside, Starling paces and prowls on the
outside, looking for a way in ... it's all very engrossing.
I guess my only real complaint about the film would be that we
don't get to see as much of Jame [sic] Gumb, the man who is Buffalo
Bill, as I would have wished. Part of the fascination of serial
killers is learning what the private fantasy is that makes them do what
they do, in the particular way they do it; we don't get to see very
much of Jame Gumb's world, although the glimpses we get are tantalizing
and spooky. And I was a little bit annoyed that the last words he
speaks in the book are omitted here, as they have the effect (to my
mind, at least) of forming another of these weird bonds between killer
and captor. But this is a minor cavil.
To summarize, this is a generally faithful and thoroughly effective
treatment of an excellent novel, and sure to please anyone who
appreciates suspense, psychological drama, and the type of horror that
can only come from the real world. (And by the way, there are also
some laughs in it--humor as black as you would expect under the
circumstances.) Don't miss it.
MVBfrankm@microsoft.UUCP (Frank MALONEY) (02/21/91)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A film review by Frank Maloney
Copyright 1991 Frank Maloney
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is Jonathan Demme's adaptation of a novel
by Thomas Harris and it knocked my socks off.
It is a thriller about serial killers, one known and in
high-security detention, one unknown and on a bloody rampage. The
former is played by Anthony Hopkins, who has created the creepiest, most
disturbing villain I have ever seen in a movie. He is totally
convincing as "Hannibal the Cannibal," alarming, charming and vile,
intelligent, perceptive, a human animal. If Hopkins doesn't get a
best-actor nomination next year, it will be because the film was
released too early in the year, although how anyone who sees his
performance can ever forget it is beyond me.
He forms a bizarre alliance with an FBI agent-in-training played by
Jodie Foster. Foster turns in an excellent performance that ought to
establish her as a creditable adult actor. Her performance isn't as
flashy as Hopkins, but it's thorough and convincing throughout.
I have only one cavil: the other, on-the-loose killer is a gay man.
Okay, there are probably a proportionate number of gay people among
killers and psychopaths as in the world at large. But I can see no
particular reason why this one has to be gay. Because he thinks he's a
transsexual the film seems to say. Hogwash! I think the real reason is
that a stereotype and a prejudice is being exploited and I say shame on
Demme and company.
One of the things I like about SILENCE is the way the film plays
with who are good guys and who are bad guys. Hopkins, for instance, is
presented as exactly what he is and yet at the end we like him, knowing
full well the evil he does. Another character, who is on the right side
of the bars, the director of the asylum where Hopkins is kept, is
clearly marked from the beginning as a villain and we cheer his final
fate. The other killer, "Buffalo Bill," is presented without any
ambiguity--all bad, but interesting.
There are consistently good characterizations of the major players,
all too rare a quality in contemporary scripts. In particular, we learn
a lot about Foster's character--even though she is a woman, contrary to
such movies as THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS and RUSSIA HOUSE. Also, I was
pleased that no one had to fall in love with anyone else, although two
intriguing friendships develop for Foster.
The film is ably photographed without particularly drawing attention
to itself or making any obvious contribution to the meaning of the film,
unlike a film such as L.A. STORY where the camera's love affair with Los
Angeles is a substantial part of the film.
One WARNING: this film is a very tense affair with blood, violence,
and mutilation. Most of the worst happens out of the range of the
camera, but enough is shown and the rest talked about so it may disturb
some viewers excessively. Several people in my audience clearly
couldn't take it any more and exited after one particularly grueling
scene. There is also strong language and some nudity.
--
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloneyleeper@mtgzy.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (02/21/91)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: A dark and fascinating thriller that is
a genuine departure in the depiction of the psychopathic
killer on the screen. Hannibal Lecter is a screen villain as
memorable as Norman Bates. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4).
Since 1959 the psychopathic killer has, perhaps unfortunately, become a
staple of popular film. Most films that had psychopaths before that point
really blurred the distinction between your garden variety murderer and the
actual psychopath. Perhaps one notable exception was THE BAD SEED, which
suggested that there could be something like a "congenital evil." Extreme
criminality and madness were very much equated. That was very much what was
meant with "mad scientists" of the old horror films. There was an urge to
deny the existence of evil or to relegate it to the supernatural. How many
people even today deny the culpability of Adolf Hitler and say instead that
he was simply mad. There were some films that suggested that there was
something more to criminal insanity than just extreme criminality, but it
was Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO that turned the cinematic view around. Norman
Bates was himself a victim as well as the perpetrator of his acts. Bates
was a normal person twisted by his past and driven by forces he could not
control. This is a marvelously egalitarian view of the criminally insane.
It assumes that all men (and women) are created equal. This is probably an
equally invalid view of the criminally insane. When John Hurt played
Caligula in I, CLAUDIUS, he described his character as "congenitally
bonkers." In all probability that was fairly accurate. It is at least my
belief that Caligula was genuinely insane and Hitler was not. This view of
the pitiful victim-psychopath became the dominant view in films with PSYCHO
and it has remained dominant. With John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978) there
was a new view, or perhaps an old view harkening back to medieval beliefs,
that the psychopathic killer is a supernatural force. Fortunately, few
films have picked up on this idea and most that have have large Roman
numerals in their titles.
Thomas Harris has a different concept of the psychopathic killer which,
if no more credible than the supernatural force, s at least more intriguing.
He created the idea in his novel RED DRAGON, which Michael Mann adapted into
his 1986 film MANHUNTER. The idea was expanded in his SILENCE OF THE LAMBS,
which has been adapted into a film by Jonathan Demme. Harris's concept is
that psychopaths have a distinctly different form of intelligence. Their
reasoning power is consistent and logical, but alien to our own. If you
cannot bridge the gap and think like a psychopath, you are at a distinct
disadvantage in dealing with them. In addition, the psychopath often has
superhuman sensory powers. For example, Harris's Hannibal Lecter, in
addition to a super-intellect, apparently has a heightened sense of smell.
I believe these are ideas that owe their origin more to Poe's "Tell-Tale
Heart" than to actual case histories. But where Harris is really superb is
in being able to make Lecter's reasoning really seem brilliant. It is
extremely difficult to write a character who is supposed to be brilliant.
To see how poorly it can be done, try going back and listening to Lex
Luthor's reasoning about Kryptonite in SUPERMAN (1978). Lecter's reasoning
is at once perverted and brilliant.
MANHUNTER and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS are two of what have to be at
least four stories involving Hannibal Lecter. And they are probably the two
least interesting. When RED DRAGON begins, Lecter has already been captured
by Will Graham, who made himself into a psychopath in order to catch Lecter
in the first place. Graham needs Lecter's help to capture another
psychopath. In THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, fledging FBI agent Clarice
Starling (no pun intended) (played by Jodie Foster) similarly must enlist
Lecter's (Anthony Hopkins's) help to find a killer. This time, however,
Lecter thinks he can work his own deal. While this story does conclude,
there is still a major loose end that really demands yet another story.
In this story the primary villain is a killer whom the press has dubbed
Buffalo Bill. The killer not only murders his victims, he later skins them.
Starling is chosen to talk to Dr.~Lecter about the crimes with an eye toward
getting his unique insight into how to capture Buffalo Bill. Starling,
however, has her own personal demons inside and Lecter is just the person to
turn those demons against her. In the book the main story is how Starling
catches the killer, with the Lecter story being a major subplot. The film
reverses the importance of the two plots by leaving the Lecter plot intact,
if not actually expanded, and cutting drastically the Buffalo Bill plot.
The character of Lecter seems calculated to play off every anti-
intellectual prejudice in the audience. The man is an ice-cold, emotionless
intellect. He listens to ice-cold, emotionless music. Even when he kills
we are told that he is ice-cold and emotionless. In one chilling detail the
character is defined. We are told that he attacked and partially ate a
victim without his pulse ever going over 80.
Stylistically the film is well handled generally. At times the music
is a bit overly dramatic in underscoring the mood as if Howard Shore, the
composer, did not trust Hopkins's acting to convey a mood of menace. If
that was the case, the composer was misguided, since Harris's villain will
probably be as memorable as Norman Bates and Michael Meyers. The
photography uses a filter to subdue the colors. If that was not downbeat
enough, Starling is really the only sympathetic character in the whole
story. She seems to go from one man to the next who tries to bed her.
For the sake of completeness at least two nits should be mentioned.
Starling is first seen climbing a steep hill in the rigorous FBI training
school. When we see her in close-up, she is wearing earrings. For her own
safety, at least, you would think they would insist on no jewelry. Also,
certain scenes are supposedly seen through an infra-red snooperscope and at
least one time the subject is in total darkness. As seen through the scope,
even items that do not emit heat are easily seen. In the total darkness
scene the subject can not only be seen, but also to be seen is the subject's
sharp shadow on the wall.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is as unpleasant and hypnotic as watching a
cobra. This is one heavy thriller. I give it a high +2 on the -4 to +4
scale.
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzy!leeper
leeper@mtgzy.att.comdjones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) (04/02/91)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A film review by Dave Jones
Copyright 1991 Dave Jones
Big disappointment for me. Nope, I had not read the book.
The story would have worked great as a straight documentary, but
they tried to play it as a "monster-in-the-house" thriller. As a
result, there were more loose ends than you see in a Deal-a-Meal
commercial.
The biggest flaw, a real whopper, was that the main bad guy
(Anthony Hopkins), after a lengthy escape sequence, simply removed
himself from the plot about two-thirds of the way into the film, not to
figure in the climax and resolution at all.
In an attempt to smooth this over, the main character (Jodie
Foster) *announces* gratuitously to a minor character that the bad guy
will not be heard of again, and goes off to deal with bad guy number
two.
All the main conflict was based around the heroine trying to get
from bad guy number one information about bad guy number two, whom we
did not even meet until well into the film. Once she had as much info
as she was going to get, about half way into the film, the lengthy
escape-sequence contributed absolutely nothing to the plot. The only
excuse, a poor one, is that it really happened that way. Of course, I
didn't know that, and since he was the genius at psychology, and she the
talented beginner, I kept expecting Jodie to be proven wrong -- for the
main bad guy to show up when we least expected him. The other shoe
never dropped, and I felt very dissatisfied: Wait a minute! Is it
over??? Whaaa???
Well, he did get a joke cameo at the very end, after Jodie had
vanquished the bogeyman, which she somehow accomplished despite her
utter incompetence in the "monster-in-the-house" scene. I still don't
know how she offed him in a pitch-dark room, with him wearing infra-red
glasses, and carrying a pistol, while she was flailing around helplessly
on the floor. Some people in the audience apparently thought it was
scary, but I thought it was just dumb. She's supposed to be one of the
brightest recent grads of FBI school, and she doesn't know the first
thing about hostage situations. Oh well, the monster gave her a second
chance to get it right.
Jodie Foster did not turn in nearly as good a performance as she
usually does. The high points of the film were Anthony Hopkins's
portrayal of the demented psychologist and the creepy images of the
insane asylum, although those scenes were marred by an "auditory cue," a
deep rumble in the sound-track, which was no doubt intended to make the
audience uncomfortable, and which, in my case at least, succeeded. I
wonder what Orion Pictures will come up with next: audience thumb-screws
to heighten anticipation?anton@ihlpa.att.com (Anton J Panagos) (04/15/91)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A film review by Anton Panagos
Copyright 1991 Anton Panagos
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme creates a horrifying and gruesome story of two
serial killers. One is an imprisoned and demented psychiatrist,
Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter and the other is a serial killer on the
loose, Buffalo Bill.
Lecter is visited in his maximum-security cell by a young FBI
agent-in-training, Clarisse (played by Jodie Foster). Clarisse had been
sent by her boss and trainer (played by Scott Glenn). Lecter was jailed
for committing heinous crimes including cannibalism, hence the
nickname. Clarisse's objective is to retrieve information from a
psychopath like Lecter in order catch Buffalo Bill. Lecter is helpful,
at first. But Clarisse is dealing with a highly intelligent and clever
criminal.
On the other hand, Buffalo Bill is a serial killer who skins his
victims. He kidnaps the daughter of a senator in West Virginia. The
minute the news hits the FBI agency in Washington,DC, Clarisse offers a
"vacation" plan to Lecter as a supposed bribe. The chase for Buffalo
Bill goes on from here. Meanwhile problems occur with Lecter after he
is transferred to a temporary cell ordered by his officer-in-charge.
There are some explicit scenes of victims and of extreme violence
in this film. The film lets us look into the mind of a serial killer.
There are many surprises and a heart-pounding ending in this
well-executed and mind-numbing movie. The cinematography and music help
set the dark mood. Anthony Hopkins performs Hannibal Lecter to the
hilt. It is the best acting performance of 1991, so far. Hopkins
should be a shoo-in for a nomination for next year's Oscar awards.
Jodie Foster does a competent job as a FBI agent who learns very quickly
how dangerous her job can be. Overall, "Silence of the Lambs" is
definately one of the best thrillers in a few years.
Anton J. Panagos
AT&T Bell Labs
Naperville, IL.