Review of the film “Silence of the Lambs”
Written about the film “Silence of the Lambs” a huge number of reviews and reviews, which are very ambiguous. Who is very sensitive, I would not recommend watching this picture. But for people striving to get a thrill, to think about the deep nature of the relationship between representatives of completely opposite layers of society, this film will bring a lot of emotions and feelings.
Filming finished in 1990. The film company Orion Pictures has delayed the screening of the film so as not to create competition for its other film, Dancing with the Wolves. Therefore, “Silence of the Lambs” was released only in January 1991.
I watched the film after reading the best-selling book of Thomas Haris “Silence of the Lambs.” Before, my opinion was that the book is always better than the film. I was convinced of this more than once. But not this time. To say that the movie was shocked to the core is to say nothing.
Preamble to the film
Haris wrote the book Silence of the Lambs in a surprisingly short time. He was impressed by the high-profile case of the maniac killer Eddie Gain, who killed dozens of people in a few years. From a harmless and friendly person he turned into a monster digging up fresh graves, stripping the skin from the dead. The freak sewed suitcases and furniture covers from this skin. After the sentence, he was hidden in a madhouse, where he read a lot, but the medical staff frightened him with long, unblinking looks.
The image of Buffalo Bill turned out to be collective by the author of the book. In addition to Eddie Gain, he combined the identities of three more maniacs:
– Ted Bundy, who lured women into his net just like Buffalo Bill;
– Geri M. Heidnik, who hid the victims in a deep pit;
– Edmund Kemper, whose grandfather and grandmother were his first victims, like Buffalo Bill.
The plot and directorial decisions
Silence of the Lambs is not a classic horror movie, as many say. This is a powerful psychological thriller. The power of the impact on the audience cannot be compared with any other movie. The incredible cruelty and realism of showing some scenes, however, classifies it as a “horror”. Not a single person in front of the screen remains calm, in fear grabs the armrests of chairs.
The plot revolves around Clarissa Starling, a graduate of the FBI school, and the brilliant cannibal maniac, a sadist with the penchant for music lover and artist, Hannibal Lector. By the will of fate, she has to turn to him for help in search of “keys” for catching another buffalo Bill maniac.
A former practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecturer enjoys almost sexual pleasure from talking with young heroine Jodie Foster. Blackmail forced him to talk about his difficult life in exchange for some information about Buffalo Bill, he enjoys listening to the story of the death of the heroine’s father.
Particular tension comes from the screen when narrating about how young Clarissa tried to save at least one lamb doomed to slaughter on the farm of her uncle, and how she did not succeed. Since then, at night she has been tormented by nightmares with the cries of little lambs, whom she cannot help. He understands from the fly and tells her that as soon as the maniac is caught, “the lambs will shut up.”
Enjoying the emotional experiences of Clarissa, a crazy psychiatrist, willingly or unwillingly, helps her catch another sadistic maniac. This assistance is much more effective than the assistance of the surrounding male police officers. After analyzing the motives with which the FBI agent Clarissa Starling acts, he refuses to pursue her, even breaking free from prison.
Watching a duet (Lecturer-Starling), you suddenly find yourself thinking that a crazy genius acts as a father-teacher, no matter how wild such an assumption may seem. And the “daughter”, although panicky afraid, nevertheless, hears every word, trying to understand the intricacies of hints and puzzles emanating from a terrible mentor.
The third most important character in the thriller was Buffalo Bill, a maniac kidnapping girls. He locks them in a pit and starves. When the skin on women sags, kills, cuts out layers of skin. After that, she sews clothes from this “material”. Buffalo Bill is a person lost between a man and a woman. Having been born a boy, he dreams of becoming a woman all his life. A terrible episode, when a pathologist takes out a dead head larva from a victim’s throat, tells of a maniac’s dream of rebirth.
Sources
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-silence-of-the-lambs-1991