STORY BY JOHN CARTER JR
Spoiler Alert: This post contains plot points for the movie.
Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs is delightfully twisted in the development of its characters and scenarios over two hours or so of running time. It was a pioneer in the thriller and detective genres and is also the tale of two characters who represent a dichotomy of two conflicting and complementary personalities. This is used as a framework for the short-lived cat and mouse game between the protagonists and their opposing force. It is to be specifically noted that there are two protagonists in this film, one might argue otherwise, but it could even be further said that there are two heroes in this tale, one a Detective and the other a Cannibal.
The FBI academy’s Clarice Starling is a talented young student looking to prove herself and save lives, and upon being tasked with meeting the notorious Psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, she becomes very interested in having the opportunity to apply her previously learned skills in the field. She prepares for her first meeting with Hannibal the Cannibal and is rather put on edge when she meets what seems to be a very well put together man. This meeting would be the first example of the dichotomy between the young agent and seasoned serial killer. For instance, take how each character shows there preparation for this short meeting.
Starling is tasked with meeting him under false pretenses in that her boss needed Dr. Lector’s help on the Buffalo Bill case. She musters together the skills and courage needed for this meeting, while on the other hand, Lecter has no preparation at all for his meeting with Clarice Starling. He simply responds to the questions she asks or he doesn’t. Unlike Agent Starling, he has no fear. It is assumed that their conversation is at the end of its time due to a confrontation between Starling and Dr. Lecter, he would go on to frighten her by saying the iconic line “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”, this would be the presumed end of the conversation until Miggs, another ward of the Baltimore state hospital for the criminally insane, salaciously defiles Starlings face. This would prove to be the starting point to validate Dr. Lecter’s potential for Heroism as he would give Clarice a clue in the Buffalo Bill case directly after this assault. This shows that Dr. Lecter is able to show some capacity for decency for certain individuals.
This is further proven after the betrayal Clarice commits of Dr. Lecter, he doesn’t express disdain or fear but rather acts resourceful and concedes to working with Dr. Chilton. This tells us that Dr. Lecter is most likely the embodiment of the superego, in Freudian terms, his supportive conscience like help he provides Clarice throughout her journey, but could be considered far from or at an odd place in the realm of Kohlberg’s Theory of moral development.
While not particularly defined on the scale Lecter doesn’t necessarily fit perfectly into the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional categories either. It might be odd to recognize a serial killing cannibal as the voice of reason or superego for the morally grounded detective Starling, but he is. His desire to push Clarice to conclude things on her own is a key example of this. It is the reason she wins in her confrontation with Buffalo Bill. This furthers the idea that Lecter, like Clarice, is, in fact, a Hero.
Clarice Starling does, however, fit into the conventional category, with the trait of a trust in and desire for Law and Order being one of the hallmarks of this category. She, unlike Lecter, is more like the representation of another Freudian concept, the ego. Finding herself at a crossroads between desire and conscientiousness, Clarice needs to decide how to go about pursuing Buffalo Bill while also proving herself to her everyone involved. Those of which being her boss, the Senator, and most importantly Dr. Lecter. Again why would any FBI Agent need recognition or guidance from a serial killer? Because simply put, he represents a facet of her being. Hannibal is aware of Clarice’s ability to solve this case, which is why he keeps telling her answers in the form of questions or guiding her through her memory which pertains to the titular line. Without Dr. Lectors help, specifically his notes on Clarice’s case file or his conversations with her, she would have never concluded many key criteria relating to who Buffalo Bill truly was.
Jame Gumb, also known to the public as Buffalo Bill, is the true antagonist of The Silence of the Lambs. They (Gumb) represent the Id or desires in the film but does not quite understand what their desires are. In a conversation with Clarice Lecter says “The significance of the moth is change” in response to finding out the key detail that Buffalo Bill is leaving moth’s in his victim’s mouths as his calling card, this leads them to further discuss the potential for Buffalo Bill being a Transexual. They came to the conclusion that the Killer must have been an applicant at major hospitals for sex reassignment but had been rejected multiple times. This is due to the increased dissonance and self-hate Gumb had for themselves.
Without Lector speaking to Clarice about the idea that Bill could have not been a “real transsexual” as Lecter put it, then she wouldn’t have been able to conclude that Gumb was indeed Buffalo Bill.
While it is up for viewer debate whether or not this was accurate to how Gumb truly identified it does point out one major truth about Lecter’s ability to see into one’s soul. He understood Miggs to be vile or Dr. Chilton to be a self-serving monster (whom he would later have for dinner). He knew that Buffalo Bill hated himself without even directly seeing him, this along with meeting regularly allowed Lecter to become invested in or attached to Agent Starling. He knew she was a brilliant detective and had the potential to rival even his deducing skills.
One might argue that Lector can’t possibly be a hero after what he did to his victims, killing and eating them, and it is true that in those scenarios he wasn’t. In the tale of The Silence of the Lambs, however, he was a hero to Clarice. In that, he gave Clarice assistance in her time of need.
In the later scenes in the film, Lecter would give Clarice the copy of her case files with some notes that would lead to the location of Buffalo Bill. Lector at this point had been betrayed by Clarice but he still was willing to help her. Lecter says earlier in the film “ I think it would be quite something to know you in private life” this implies that Lecter has an interest in Clarice not that of romantic nature necessarily but that of care. He has grown invested in this person and cares about their potential success, He will do what it takes to see her win through her own will. He has almost adopted the role of Father for her in their exchanges. She needs this to be ready to take on anything after Lecter or Bill. Lector wants to help her Silence the Screaming of the lambs. After this Clarice seems to admire Dr. Lecter. She is impressed and intrigued by his notes on her case file.
Clarice would be triumphant in her defeat of Buffalo Bill after deducing where he lived. She returned to the academy ready and would become an official agent of the FBI. She was declared a Hero by her superiors and colleagues, but she knew that without Dr. Lecter she wouldn’t have succeeded. As she and other graduates are being celebrated, she receives a call. It is the now fugitive Hannibal Lecter calling to ask her if the lambs have stopped screaming and goes on to say “I have no plans to call on you Clarice, the world’s more interesting with you in it. So you take care now to extend me the same courtesy.”
Dr. Hannibal Lecter helped Clarice grow and develop, not only in her job but as well in her personal life. He understood her and gauged her ability to solve the case, to bring Buffalo Bill to Justice. He is not a traditional hero that is true, and he has been a true villain many times in his life. He had committed many evil deeds from killing Miggs to making a nice meal out of a census taker but when it came time to help someone he was invested in he made it his goal to ensure her success. Then, even on the run from authorities, he calls to see if the “Lambs have stopped screaming.”
I rate this film 10/10 for perfect complementary character dualities and some of the most amazing duet scenes I have ever seen.
The Silence of the Lambs and other films are available on the Fort Hays State Movie Channel which is free to Students here on campus: https://movies.fhsu.edu/#/browse