“The Silence of the Lambs” Movie Review

 

“The Silence of the Lambs”

 

Movie Review

 

The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror film written and directed by Jonathan Demme, based on Thomas Harri's 1988 novel of the same name. It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee on the hunt for "Buffalo Bill," a serial killer who skins his female victims. She seeks the advice of imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, a brilliant psychiatrist, and cannibalistic serial killer, in order to catch him. Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, and Kasi Lemmons also appear in the film.

Clarice Starling is called away from her routine at the Quantico FBI Academy by her superior, Jack Crawford. He assigns her to interview Hannibal Lecter, an incarcerated former psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer, under the guise of convincing Lecter to answer a questionnaire about himself for the Bureau's psychological profiles, but secretly hoping to gain his insights into a psychopath serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill," who kills young women and removes their skin.

Dr. Frederick Chilton leads Starling to Lecter's cell at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Although pleasant and courteous at first, Lecter becomes impatient with Starling's interviewing and rebuffs her, deducing Crawford's true motive and refusing to assist. A prisoner flicks semen at her as she walks away, infuriating Lecter. He calls Starling back and instructs her to look for an old patient of his, which leads her to a storage facility where she discovers a jar containing a severed man's head. She returns to Lecter, who says the man is connected to Buffalo Bill and offers to profile him in exchange for being transferred away from Chilton, whom he despises. Another victim is discovered with a death's head moth lodged in her throat.

Buffalo Bill kidnaps Catherine Martin, the daughter of a U.S. senator, in Tennessee. Crawford gives Starling permission to offer Lecter a phony deal in exchange for information that will help them capture Buffalo Bill in time to save Catherine. Instead, Lecter demands a bribe from Starling in exchange for her personal information. Starling tells Lecter about the murder of her father when she was a child. Chilton overhears their conversation and reveals Starling's deception to Lecter before offering him a new contract. Lecter agrees and is flown to Memphis, where he meets Senator Martin, telling her that Buffalo Bill's real name is "Louis Friend."

Starling deduces that the name is an anagram of "iron sulfide," also known as fool's gold. She pays a visit to Lecter, who is now imprisoned in a cell in Tennessee, and asks for the truth. Lecter claims that all of the information she requires is in the Buffalo Bill case file, then insists on continuing their bargain. She recalls a traumatic childhood incident in which she overheard spring lambs being slaughtered. Lecter speculates that Starling hopes that saving Catherine will end her nightmares of screaming lambs, and he derives satisfaction from this shared revelation. As Chilton arrives, Lecter returns the case files to Starling and has the police escort her out. Later that night, Lecter murders his guards, escapes from his cell, and vanishes.

Starling deduces from Lecter's file annotations that Buffalo Bill knew his first victim, Frederika Bimmel. Starling visits Bimmel's hometown in Ohio and learns that she and Buffalo Bill were both tailors. Starling discovers dress patterns that match the patches of skin removed from the victim at Bimmel's house and calls Crawford to inform him that Buffalo Bill is making a "suit" out of human skin. Crawford is already on his way to making an arrest after cross-referencing Lecter's notes with hospital archives and discovering a man named Jame Gumb, who believes he is transsexual but was deemed too violent to apply for a sex-change operation. Crawford and an FBI Hostage Rescue Team stormed Gumb's Illinois home, only to find it empty. Meanwhile, Starling follows a tip from one of Bimmel's friends, which leads her to one of her former clients' homes. At the residence, she meets "Jack Gordon," but after spotting a death's head moth flying loose, she learns he is Gumb. She pursues him into a vast basement, where she discovers Catherine trapped in a dry well. Gumb stalks Starling in a dark room with night-vision goggles but reveals himself by cocking his revolver. Starling acts quickly and kills Gumb.

Starling receives a phone call from Lecter, who is at a Bimini airport, while at the FBI Academy graduation party. He assures her that he has no plans to pursue her and asks her to return the favor, which she declines. Lecter subsequently hangs up the phone because he is "having an old friend for dinner". He follows a newly arrived Chilton through the crowd.

WATCH THE REVIEW VIDEO FOR MORE...