The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American horror movie that was the first comedy-drama film to receive the Academy Award for Best Cinematography after Rebecca (1940). The picture swept the five main Oscars thanks to its tight director and brilliant storyline, as well as Anthony Hopkins’ unforgettable performances as a cannibalistic serial murderer. The categories were the following: the best photo, best editing, best lead performer, the best actress playing, and best script (original or adapted). The aim of this paper is to summarize the movie and formulate the opinion about it.
Clarice Starling, an FBI recruit, is a dedicated learner at the Academy who aspires to operate in the institution’s Behavioral Science Project days later. Clarice is asked to meet the cannibalistic murderer, Dr Hannibal Lecter, in a federal correctional psychiatric jail by Jack Crawford, the head of the Behavioral Science Fair project. Crawford expects Lecter to have a fuller image of the latest psychotic serial murderer, Buffalo Bill’s, modus operandi, despite Clarice’s misgivings. Buffalo Bill has now murdered five women, most of whom are slightly overweight and have had big parts of their skin removed. Crawford and his staff have been on the trail of the Buffalo Bills for some time but have yet to make any significant progress. Clarice learns after conversing with Lecter for the first occasion that she will then have to play together with his psychological techniques to remedy the mystery (Demme, 1998). More significantly, she will have to decide how far she will go along with it because, in exchange for his advice, he wants Clarice to tell him concerning her history and psychologically eventually open to him.
As a result, Clarisse manages to trace Buffalo Bill’s hideout thanks to a rare moth inserted into the throat of the sixth victim. The lecturer escapes and ends up having a mysterious telephone conversation with Clarissa during graduation from the Academy. The plot makes the viewer stay in constant tension, and in my opinion, all plot twists are successful. Moreover, I would like to note the elaboration of characters, for example, Dr. Lector. It would seem that the killer, the cannibal, who should only win contempt, shows that he can win respect.
The Silence of the Lambs has a lot of wonderful and vital arguments to adore it. I have watched several fantastic films, both old and new. In my opinion, the Silence of the Lambs is a tremendous film, and even though it was not my current favourite of 1991, I believe it deservedly won An Academy Award. Jonathan Demme’s direction is fantastic; the film is filmed in an endlessly evocative style, and Demme never allows the tension to drop. The tale is captivating from beginning to end, and the movie is suspenseful and speculated. The Silence of the Lambs is also superbly played. Jodie Foster is the glue that binds the film together, and this is one of her best performances. I also have to mention Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill, who is terrifyingly efficacious. On the other hand, Anthony Hopkins plays the lead; it is possibly his greatest established actor, and he displays that despite appearing in only a little part of the movie, his progress is memorable. To conclude, a captivating plot, masterful acting, and good script make this film unique in its genre and example to other works.
Reference
Demme, J. (1998). Silence of the Lambs [Film]. United States; St. Martin’s Press.