The Lambs, Clarice
one of my favorite movies
Okay when I say that The Silence of the Lambs is my favorite movie I don’t mean it in a filmbro way or in a FBI watchlist way. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but all I do know is the film staring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster is the only piece of media I can watch every weekend and never get tired of. (More on the sequel with Juliane Moore (Hannibal) and the prequel-ish (Red Dragon) with Edward Norton later)
I mean that this is my favorite movie of all time and only a handful of other movies could stand against it and even then, I would still pick Silence of the Lambs because that’s how much of a favorite it is.
Firstly, if you haven’t seen the movie I don’t want to just encourage you to watch it with reckless abandon. I think the first time I watched it I had a nightmare that night. And that’s because I hated watching movies where the plot could happen in real life. This feat has since lessened since I’ve grown but I do want to emphasize: this movie does feature things like murder, kidnapping, implied gore, and implied eating of other humans.
But if you think you can withstand all of that, then this movie is one to watch. If not for the amazing (academy nominated and winning, by the way) performances by Foster and Hopkins, then for the twisted plot and the crafty characters of Clarice Sterling and Hannibal Lecter. I mean there have never been two characters that have been so intertwined that probably would have been better off not knowing the other existed.
Clarice, and upcoming FBI agent, takes on the role of trying to solve an active case with the help of a jailed Hannibal. The relationship between them shouldn't work, at least that’s what everyone else in the movie thinks. But somehow it does. She gets information and he gets to question this woman he thinks is fascinating. He literally says to her “I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case, though. About yourself.” The man was enamored but probably not in the way we or Clarice would want.
I think that’s what also perplexed me about the movie. No matter how many times I watch it, I can never fully say without a doubt that Hannibal doesn’t want to eat Clarice. He likes her, sure. He thinks she’s smart too. And he can see right through her. He can tell there was an innocence stolen from her. But is that enough to save her?
We never get to find out because by the end the two go their separate ways. I don’t wanna give anything away but it’s very cat and mouse. Except you can’t tell exactly who is the cat or the mouse. At moments Clarice feels like she’s in over her head, but then she proves how stealthy and quick she is be evading danger. On the other hand we have Hannibal who is obviously smart and trying to play a sinister game with an FBI agent. But how smart can he be if he was jailed?
*below are spoilers for a 31 year old movie, be warned!*
If you ask me who the villain is in the movie, I wouldn’t say it’s Hannibal per say. He’s caged for most of the film. You see him talking to Clarice and he seems to be toying with her. But he’s in jail for crimes he’s committed. Whether his sentence is for everything he’s ever done or just what he was caught doing is a bit up in the air.
As soon as Hannibal gets the chance to escape he does. And there’s a shift in the movie. Like yes Clarice is trying to catch a wanted murderer. But it isn’t until Hannibal escapes, and the way he does it, do you realize that he was the bigger fish all along. That maybe he wasn’t really caged, but only waiting for an opportunity to get free. And beyond that, because he’s so smart, he will never be caged again.
That mysterious aura of the movie is soul capturing. I mean Hannibal never gets caught and Clarice is the only one in the world* that can understand him and might know where he’s going. But she knows he’ll either be in a cage again or she’ll die trying.
*Now, when I say only person in the world here that’s not entirely true. Because the prequel, Red Dragon, shows viewers that Will Graham also knew Hannibal closely. Even closer than Clarice.
While Clarice first knew him as a caged convicted cannibal, Will first knew him as a mentor. Of course this movie (and the show) takes place in the time before, but it’s not that far in the past. In this space in time, Hannibal is already cooking Brain-fillets and finger fries. He’s also helping the FBI solve crimes at the same time.
The relationship between Will and Hannibal is even more unnerving. If you’ve ever watched the show then you know exactly what I’m talking about. I mean the ground of their relationship was palpable enough for them to become a ship online. Now, do I ship Will and Hannibal? No. I just think that for the safety of Will that couldn’t be a thing, because no one really knows what ticks for Hannibal before he decides the person he’s talking to will become a charcuterie board.
Will and Hannibal’s relationship is drastically different because Will has seen him at his highest and lowest. And at his lowest, Hannibal still reached out to Will. Clarice has only ever seen Hannibal at his lowest and by the end of the movie he gives her one last phone call to tell her not to look for him. Doesn’t mean that he won’t be checking in on her, but he will not allow her to do the same.
I mean talk about character building! Please, walk with me here. This man eats people and yet still gets fasciated with them. I mean if there was ever a walking contradiction it’s Hannibal. The man moves through the world operating like no one else and yet he still finds beauty in people.
At it’s core, this movie is about a young women proving herself in a male dominated space, and being consulted by two men who you can’t really tell like her in a romantic sense or not. And by the end of it you’re glad she’s able to stand on her two feet and prove herself because being in either of their hands would cost her everything (her life, her career, her reputation)
That is why we do not talk about the sequel. I mean I liked the sequel, don’t get me wrong. But I think what would have worked better is if our main female character was not Clarice. I think of it like this, there are two Clarices’ in this franchise. There’s Jodie’s and there’s Julianne’s. Both are great characters to me. But they cannot be the same character to me.
Jodie’s Clarice is an innocent but not too innocent forthcoming FBI agent. She is learning the ropes but she’s also doing her own thing. She falls into a relationship with a man in a cell, but cannot fall into a relationship with her job mentor. She seems doomed from the start but can believe in herself long enough to save the day. It’s unclear whether Hannibal loves her and wants to eat her, or loves her and decides to leave her.
Julianne’s Clarice is disgraced. She’s done things she’s not proud of. She’s got an edge to her, like someone might think of her as un-innocent. She’s gotten sharper and doesn’t have to play nice anymore to get into the boys club. She’s past acting like she wants to prove herself but still is. Hannibal has a clear lustful and intimate fasciation with her, doesn’t want to eat her, but knows he cannot be her protector.
This is what I mean it’s hard to believe that FBI hopeful Clarice would turn into disgraced Clarice within the span of several years. It’s not to say that it couldn’t happen, just that there needed to be more time in between for it to be believable.
Both Jodie and Julianne give stunning performances. But it’s two different Clarices’ to me. Which is why Julianne should have been given her own character. I mean how hard could it have been to write her as an agent willing to come out of retirement to prove herself?
I obviously have lots to say about The Silence of the Lambs. And the sequel and prequel. I really do think I could write an essay on this with citations and things like that. But I won’t do that to you—just know I COULD!