The Silence of the Lambs in Dot Am At

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Directed by Jonathan Demme; Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster; 1991

It’s hard to believe Anthony Hopkins is the second actor to portray Dr. Hannibal Lecter on screen, the first being Brian Cox in Manhunter (1986). Despite an underrated performance by Brian Cox as the original Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs is by far the creepiest, spine-chilling, and impeccable horror performance in the history of cinema. This leads to the question: What makes Hannibal Lecter the most frightening fictitious character in movie history? The answer is very simple, he’s human. Dr. Lecter is not the Hollywood’s version of a notorious villain. For instance, dreamkiller (Freddy Kruger in A Nightmare on Elm Street) and a seven foot tall man with a ski mask (Jason Voorhees in Friday the thirteen). Dr. Lecter specializes in Forensic Psychiatry and thus can manipulate one’s consciousness with a profound psychological impact.

In Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) the plot unfolds as several women are kidnapped and killed across the Midwest of America. Young FBI student Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is given the job of interviewing Dr. Lecter at an asylum in Virginia in order to extract possible information from him about “Buffalo Bill.”

Jodie Foster’s character of Clarice Starling is still very new to the world of being an FBI agent, she's quite nervous in her approach but as the film progresses you see her building in confidence and really believing in her own ability to succeed in the field. There's definitely a change in the character of Clarice from the beginning to the end of the film, so much happens to this woman and in being involved in really helps her to mature. Jodie Foster is not at the same league as Anthony Hopkins in terms of acting; however Jodie is still greatly believable as Clarice. With a little over 16 minutes of screen time in The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins became the first Best Actor Oscar with the shortest time. Lastly, Clarice Starling is regarded by the American Film Institute as the greatest heroine in American cinema. Javier Serrano is the founder of Monte Pictures and currently holds a history degree from National University.