For the 25th anniversary of the influential horror classic Silence of the Lambs, winner of 5 Oscars for 1991 (Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, and Adapted Screenplay), Team Experience is revisiting the picture, tag-team style all week long.
Cue: opening credits.
Pt 1 by Kieran Scarlett
00:00:01 – Howard Shore’s score always transports me into the mood of this film. It’s at once simple, yet incredibly evocative and iconic.
00:00:24 – Seeing the Orion logo calls to mind Jodie Foster’s Oscar speech where she thanked Orion Pictures “as it used to be and how it will always be in [her] heart”. Amen, sister. Seriously, check out the slate of Orion releases. There are some true gems in there.
00:01:31 – The opening montage of young FBI trainee Clarice Starling in the woods near Quantico, Virginia (thanks, super!) I love how Jodie Foster plays Clarice Starling as incredibly enthusiastic, but not naïve. That little look of “let’s do this thing” that she gives when she climbs that rope into the clearing. This performance is a great assembly of perfect little details.
00:02:55 – Funny how both of Jodie Foster’s Oscar-winning films (this and The Accused) essentially begin with her character sprinting, albeit in very different contexts. It’s a tiny reminder of how different those two performances are and how good she is at inhabiting a role without in ways that aren’t conspicuously chameleon-like (if that makes sense). Jodie Foster’s Clarice has justifiably become an iconic role for Foster, almost synonymous with her real-life persona—so much so that it’s easy to forget what a surprise this performance may have been at the time, given what audiences had seen from her before.
00:03:07 – A nameless male functionary tells Starling “Crawford wants to see you in his office” with somewhat of a lingering look as she runs off. What’s behind the look? Lust? Annoyance? Some combination of both? Staying on his face as he gazes at her is a small, but very communicative little touch that tells us not too obviously what kind of world this is. The economy of storytelling in this film is great.
00:03:39 – “Production Designer Kristi Zea”. Just one of the many people on this film who should have been nominated and was not. It’s hard to make the argument that a winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture got the shaft. But, the lack of technical nods outside of sound and editing is galling. Most notably production design. Just another reminder for craftsmen to look outside of period and fantasy when filling out their ballot. Contemporary is not synonymous with unimpressive, people!
00:03:53 – Clarice and Ardelia (actress turned writer/director Kasi Lemmons of Eve Bayou / Black Nativity fame) share a brief encouraging single handshake in passing. I love their friendship in this film, even though it’s not featured prominently. I like to fantasize that if Kasi Lemmons ever has a film in the Oscar conversation, Jodie Foster will be stumping hard for her.
Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford. Did you doubt his character the first time through this movie?
00:05:21 – Clarice arrives in Jack Crawford’s office and lays eyes on the bulletin board containing the infamous “Bill Skins Fifth” newspaper clipping.
00:05:35 – Graphic crime scene photos of Buffalo Bill’s victims.
00:05:51 – “Starling, Clarice M. Good morning.” Enter Scott Glenn. Am I alone in finding Jack Crawford incredibly creepy? Even on re-watches, knowing he’s not a villain I find him deeply unnerving and I can't imagine having to be in an office alone with him. During this scene I was convinced he was the killer or at least killer-adjacent when I first saw the film. He’s really serving us slimeball realness at every turn. Surprisingly, he isn’t the worst offender of the skeevy non-serial killer variety as we’ll find out very soon.
A job’s come up and I thought of you. Not a job, really. More like an interesting errand.
And how…
Who's the subject?
00:7:00 – First mention of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter. Crawford wants Starling to go speak to him, giving her a questionnaire as he prepares to send someone who is essentially still a student into the wolf’s den—a plot contrivance I’m willing to set aside given the film that houses it. If you were a fly on the wall for this conversation wouldn’t you interject with “Excuse me, Mr. Crawford, but… doesn’t that sound like the worst idea ever?”
00:8:24—Speaking of skeevy non-serial killers, we cut to the Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald) at the Baltimore State Hospital who’s bragging to Starling about catching a pure psychopath alive and how rare that is (ladies? Can you believe this guy’s single?). He’s mostly telegraphing his creepiness via his haircut, which seems like it's possibly styled to hide his horns, but maybe I’m biased. My main reference point for Heald is “Boston Public” (that high school teacher drama show produced by Michelle Pfeiffer’s husband) where he played an unlikeable character similarly drunk on the elixir of middle management. Also he had a weird sexual relationship with Kathy Baker’s character who had a hook for a hand, but I digress…
Anthony Heald as Dr Chilton. (Not to be confused with Anthony Head who is Giles in Buffy!)
00:09:20—After expertly brushing off Chilton’s feeble attempts to flirt with her, Starling is ready to get down to business.
00:10:00—I spoke about economy of storytelling earlier. We’re only ten minutes in and we’re already hearing about how Lecter ate a poor nurse’s tongue while unrestrained. “His pulse never went above 85.” Not exactly something you want to hear about someone you’re about to converse with…
00:11:21—The pan around the anteroom before we get to the prison cell is appropriately unsettling as we finally land on the kind-faced Barney (Frankie Faison). Again, top-notch work from production designer Kristi Zea imagining a world that most of us (hopefully) are unfamiliar with and making it feel specific and of a piece.
Frankie Faison is a screen regular best known for his work on "The Wire". He'll also be a series regular in Netflix series "Luke Cage"
He's past the others. The last cell…I’ll be watching. You’ll do fine.”
The first true vote of confidence Starling has received on this assignment.
00:12:23—Walk down the corridor past the parade of imprisoned psychopaths, including Miggs who hisses “I can smell your cunt,” quite possibly the most upsetting line in a movie that’s, frankly, full of upsetting lines. I’m not convinced that thick glass couldn’t be judiciously employed with some of these other patients as well...
00:12:35—Our first glimpse of Dr. Lecter, standing eerily still in an expectant pose, waiting for Starling.
first shot of Lecter. How soon into this performance did Hopkins win the Oscar?
00:13:14—Dr. Lecter steps forward into the light to skim Starling’s credentials. While I’m not convinced this is a great performance from Anthony Hopkins, it’s sure as hell an effective one. He’s perfectly unsettling and well-cast and is great at betraying emotion only through his eyes. Can you believe this role was once earmarked for Gene Hackman?
00:14:26—Lecter sniffs the air, identifying Starling’s perfume and lotion. One clue that many have used in the (I believe) false narrative that Lecter is somehow a stand-in for queerness. But that’s a separate conversation…
00:16:19—“No, you ate yours.” She says this as calmly as one might ask for a piece of gum. The feigned calmness with which Clarice describes the brutality of Lecter’s murders is evident and he’s about to pounce. You can feel it. He takes her questionnaire…
Oh Agent Starling, you think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?
00:17:00—Lord, here it comes. Lecter’s famous “well-scrubbed, hustling rube” speech in which he throws shade at her outfit. Kudos to Lecter (I guess) for showing restraint by also not including her boxy, poorly-tailored blazer in his read, but I suppose it was 1991
00:17:50—As cordially as their exchange began, it disintegrates as Clarice tries (unsuccessfully) to throw the criticism back at Lecter. He’s not having it, opting to tell her of one of his favorite meals of days gone by then dismisses her.
Fly, fly, fly, Agent Starling…”
00:19:07—After an…er, incident (we all know what happened. Let’s not discuss it) Lecter barks at Clarice to return. She rushes back and he tells her “Look deep within yourself, Miss Starling. Go seek out Ms. Mofet, a former patient of mine!”
00:20:15—Cut to a childhood flashback of a young Clarice rushing out to greet her sheriff father as he comes home from work. If there’s one thing I would cut from the movie, it would be every single flashback to Clarice’s childhood. They aren’t plentiful, but they’re precious and unnecessary. Especially when you have Foster, who’s great at wearing backstory on her face.
Maria Skorobogatov as Young Clarice Starling. She's only been onscreen a few times since
00:20:41—Clarice sobbing in the parking lot after an admittedly upsetting encounter, cutting immediately to her in training at a shooting range, her face stoic and fixed with resolve. Cue training montage.
00:21:46—Clarice gets a call from Jack Crawford informing her that Miggs is dead after being encouraged by Lecter to swallow his own tongue. They talk about Lecter’s cryptic “Ms. Mofet” breadcrumbs and she tells him that she found the “Your Self” storage facility in downtown Baltimore.
Miggs is dead. This isn't bad news Clarice, calm down.
00:22:45—Cut to Clarice at the storage facility in the dead of night, talking to the landlord of the facility who is playing his brief role just a little too broadly.
00:23:23—They can’t get the door open and no one has been inside since 1980. This is where I'd be telling mysely "Quit. Run. Leave. Don’t go in there." I would make a terrible FBI agent…
00:23:53—Clarice uses a jack to prop open the door, but can only get it open part way. She'll have to slide underneath. But what’s in the storage facility?
Kieran Scarlett
Kieran is a Canadian expat whose love affair with movies began with Judy Garland and Julie Andrews. He thanks his older brother for his film fanaticism and apologizes profusely for dragging him to see "Cold Mountain" on opening weekend because 'people in it might get nominated for stuff.' He received his MFA in writing from the American Film institute. He spends a lot of time thinking about the 1974 Best Actress race, admiring Dorothy Malone's mambo skills and longing for the return of Holly Hunter. Kieran can be found in Los Angeles, writing, working on movies and searching for the perfect arthouse theater with good parking. [Follow him on Twitter / More Kieran articles]