Movie title: The Silence of the Lambs
Release Date:1991
Type of movie: Suspense/Horror
MPAA Rating: R
Our rating: 10/10
Re-watchability: 10/10
I was thinking about another movie review and decided to start the year off with one about the best suspense/horror pictures ever. There’ve been a lot of movies that came out over the last 3 years that certainly deserve one’s attention and reviewing and I will get to those at some point. But to start off 2023, I just felt this year needed a banger of a review. So, I picked an older film that to this day is highly regarded as one of the greatest films ever made in this genre.
I am writing of course about The Silence of the Lambs. A movie that has made numerous top 10 and top 100 lists for one of the greatest films ever made. What am I going to cover in my review of The Silence of the Lambs? Glad you asked. First, I will review the story line which is how I typically start my movie reviews. Second, I will discuss what got my attention in the movie, why I felt the need to review this film and why this film remains on many of the top lists around the world as one of the best films in this genre. Third, I will discuss the age range that should watch this movie and why I feel that this film shouldn’t be watched by those under 15 years old. Finally, I will discuss if you my dear readers should watch this film. Based on how I have rated it so highly, that’s a pretty good indicator for what I think of this film. With all of this said, let me jump right on into this review.
The story line for The Silence of the Lambs is based off a book of the same title. It follows the journey of FBI cadet Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, and renowned cannibal Hannibal Lecter, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins. When a new serial killer dubbed Buffalo Bill appears on the scene FBI director William Graham recruits Clarice Starling to assist in tracking down the killer with the assistance of Hannibal Lecter to give them insight into the mind of Buffalo Bill. This story line is similar to a lot of other story lines about an FBI agent tracking down a serial killer. However, very few of those story lines to use another killer to assist in getting into the mind of the killer they are hunting. I would also note here that this isn’t the first film that introduces us to Hannibal Lecter. There was a film from 1986 called Manhunter that first introduction Hannibal Lecter to the cinema. However, none of the cast from that original film returned for this second film on Hannibal.
The first thing that most people look at when selecting a film, especially when they hear that The Silence of the Lambs is a horror/suspense film is that The Silence of the Lambs was the last movie to win all the big 5 Academy Awards. It is the only film in this genre to ever do so. What are the big 5 Academy awards? I’m glad you asked. The big 5 academy awards are, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. Only 3 movies in the history of the Academy Awards have ever won all 5 prestigious awards and those movies are, It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Those are the only 3 films to sweep the awards. Others have come close but fell short of winning in 1 of the 5 categories, hence keeping them off this list. It has been 32 years since a film has swept the big 5 Academy awards and there isn’t likely to be any candidates this year. The last film that seemed like it might achieve that was La La Land (2016), but that only managed to capture 2 out of 5 wins. What really makes The Silence of the Lambs winning all 5 so iconic and unprecedented was that when the awards for 1991 films were announced, no one was talking about The Silence of the Lambs. In fact, everyone had pretty much forgotten about it since it was released in February of 1991 and films that release that early are almost never in contention for Academy Awards. However, in my opinion, The Silence of the Lambs did everything right. It came out at a time when not everyone was making horror/suspense movies. It introduced us to a world that we had seen before in Manhunter (1986) but put a new twist on everything. It blended the horror/suspense elements of the plot of the book perfectly for screen and audiences everywhere. It came out of nowhere to win all 5 academy awards at a time when no one was even talking about it. Today, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard or seen this film.
On to my second point, which is what got my attention and why I felt the need to review this film. Why is it that this film sits on so many top lists around the world? It started with the opening scene of the film when we are introduced to Clarice Starling out for her morning exercise at the FBI academy and she is called into FBI Director Grahams office for a “meeting”. It is here where we learn that she is being assigned to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter for a case involving “Buffalo” Bill. We also learn for the first time that Dr. Lecter is nicknamed Hannibal “The Cannibal” because he likes to eat people. From this point forward in the film Director Jonathan Demme ratchets up the tension a notch and never backs down until the very end of the film. You go from the FBI academy to the FBI Directors office to meeting Hannibal for the first time and his acute awareness for exactly why Clarice Starling is interviewing him. Hannibal immediately gets inside Clarice’s head, toying with her as he asks his probing questions of her. Hannibal continues his cat and mouse games as he gives Clarice just enough information at a time to help her hunt down Buffalo Bill. Is he feeding her clues, or is he just satisfying some sick game he wants to play with her like a cat playing with its dinner? This continues all the way to the finale of the film, the final showdown between Clarice and Bill or is it the end of the film. Hannibal calls Clarice when she graduates the academy to ask her one simple, haunting question, “Well Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?”
I felt the need to review this film because I’ve always felt a deep connection to this film. There are so many films out there to review and so many films quite frankly miss their mark. I felt this film by all accounts hit all the marks I look for in a spectacular movie going experience. There are two iconic movie villains based on the book, Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter and “Buffalo” Bill. Then there is the sweet yet innocent FBI agent in Training Clarice Starling who is anxious to get her start and make her mark while still in the FBI academy. She sees her chance if she can blow the Buffalo Bill case wide open with the assistance of Hannibal Lecter. The seamless blending of horror and suspense elements by Director Jonathan Demme are made to near perfection in this film so you want to keep coming back to see it again and again. In many aspects, it is the ultimate good vs Evil movie, just with 2 villains instead of one. This film keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time. If you do take a bathroom break, you might want to pause the movie, because you are sure to miss something important. Across the board this film has many iconic lines in it spoken by Dr. Lecter and many are still recited to this day some 30 years after this films release. If you haven’t seen this film, you may have been living under a rock. This film is the epitome of great film making and shows just what happens when good lets Evil out of the box where it resides.
Why does this film sit atop so many top 10 and top 100 lists around the world? Well for starters many movies focus on only 1 battle between Good Vs Evil. For example, there is “Star Wars: Episode 4 A New Hope (1977)” focusing on the light side vs the dark side, the rebel alliance vs the empire. Where the Rebel Alliance is guided by those seeking to do good and the empire led by those seeking to do evil things. The Silence of the Lambs sits on these lists because it examines the Good Vs. Evil battle in a totally different way. We have the FBI, who are for all intents and purposes in the film and the novel, the good guys, and we have Bill and Hannibal Lecter as the bad guys that we are trained to hate because they embody evil. The film examines what happens when the good guys have to team up with an evil doer to catch another evil doer. The Silence of the Lambs tackles social issues such as social anxiety, in the form of Clarice Starling being plucked from the FBI academy and thrust into working as a temporary FBI agent. She is shy about meeting Hannibal Lecter and unsure of what she should say to him at their first meeting. The iconic lines from Hannibal Lecter when he asks Clarice, “Have the lambs stopped screaming?” a throw back to when she told him she had a nightmare where lambs were being led to the slaughter and she couldn’t stop hearing them scream. Another line from Hannibal, “A Census taker once tried to test me. And I ate his liver with some flava beans and a nice Chianti.” Hannibal Lecter sits on many lists and often in the number 1 spot of all time movie bad guys because of his excellent portrayal by Sir Anthony Hopkins. This film sits on these lists because as I said before the excellent blending of suspense/horror through out this film. I place this film at my #5 spot of All-Time favorite movies I have ever seen. I will cover that list separately later this year.
So now I am down to my third point which is who should watch this movie. Clearly with an R-rating it wasn’t made for little kids. The subject matter being dealt with here is far to dark for anyone under the age of 15 or 16 to be able to understand. That being said I watched this film when I as 13 and I didn’t fully understand it until I sat back down and watched it again a few years later as a 20 year old. I missed a lot the first time around that I didn’t miss the second time viewing it. I don’t recommend allowing your little ones to watch this film especially if they are under the age of 15. It will be too dark for them to fully understand the themes being presented and I can say from experience that I wish I hadn’t seen it when I was 13, honestly. 13-year-old me thought I was the coolest because I got to watch an R-rated movie. But it wasn’t really that cool honestly because a lot of the stuff in this film just went over my head at the time. So, if you are a parent reading this post, please don’t let your kids watch this alone much less a child under 15 due to the adult subject matter that is covered in this film.
Lastly should you as my reader watch this film? Honestly, I can’t say enough good about this film because it blew my mind and continues to blow my mind whenever I watch it. So, with a resounding yes, I very highly recommend this film to my readers. But I only recommend this to my readers 15 and older due to the subject matter being delt with in this film. With all that said, why the hell are you still reading? Go rent or buy this movie now and sit down and strap in for a wild enjoyable movie ride. Don’t forget to turn your mind off for 2 hours for complete enjoyment.
I have now covered in complete detail what I think of The Silence of the Lambs. I have covered why it sits on so many top lists. I have discussed the story line of the film without giving away too many spoilers, I hope. I have covered what I think of this film and why I think you should go see it as one of my readers. I have also covered something very important and that is why you shouldn’t watch this if you are under a certain age. With all of this said, I am sad to announce that this post must now end, but I will see you soon with another post.
Thank you for reading
Jason
