The Silence of The Lambs - Conversation scene analysis

 Introduction

This week I watched the psychological horror 'The Silence of The Lambs' directed by Johnathan Demme and based on the novel by Thomas Harris in 1988. The film was released in 1991 and stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Ted Levine as the insane antagonist 'Buffalo Bill'. The film is about Clarice, an FBI police officer in training, and her struggle with the audience to crack the case of Buffalo Bill, with the untrustworthy help of the psychologist and cannibal, Doctor Hannibal Lecter. 

My thoughts and response on the film

What I found really interesting and ultimately took away from this film was the relationship between Clarice and Hannibal Lecter, and how, although he manages to get inside her head and make her uncomfortable in every scene they are in together, he still protects her from harm by hurting anyone who makes her job as FBI difficult throughout the film. The two of them share a form of bond, despite their statuses as characters, with Hannibal never wanting any harm to come to Clarice, even when he escapes prison and is completely free to kill her by the end of the film; however he still chooses to seek Dr. Chilton, the doctor who tries to steal Clarice's success in the film. 

The other factor that I found really interesting in the film was the use of the 'male gaze' in the form of a lot of shots from Clarice's point of view (POV). I thought this was a really effective tool, as throughout the film, Clarice is often talked to a certain was by a lot of the male characters, as if she either won't understand what they're saying, despite her status as FBI, or that she won't be able to handle the gruesome topics they talk about in the film. This was a really interesting device to me as it really gets across the visual aspect of the film's message, rather than just hearing what the characters are saying to each other. 

Analysing scenes - Clarice's first meeting with Hannibal Lecter

In this shot, there is a clear visual difference in physical power, with Clarice taking up most of the screen and Hannibal inside the cell against her, but there is also a difference in psychological power, which is presented in the stare Lecter has on Clarice and the focus on him rather than her. It's clear that the director wanted us as the audience to feel as if Clarice is dominating the conversation here by using an over-the-shoulder shot to establish the closeness between the characters, despite them being on different sides of the wall; but also that he wanted us to know that she won't have this much power for much longer because of how intimidating Lecter is as a character, and his way of 'getting into peoples' heads' as other characters put it throughout the narrative. Although Clarice takes up most of the screen, Lecter isn't really pushed into the corner of the shot by her and still stands up straight and in focus, as if to imply that he isn't intimidated by her in their first meeting.

Alternatively, in this shot, the two characters are closer than at any other point in the film, revealing where they stand in terms of power for the first time since both their faces can be seen for the first time in the same shot. Once again, Lecter dominates the conversation, this time more physically than psychologically, with him towering over her, his arms spread out in the cell to show his dominance and need to escape very clearly. Clarice cowers shamefully in front of him and the shot is a medium low angle to emphasize how terrifying Lecter looks here, ending the scene with the impression that their relationship is almost completely in his control at this point in the film. It's a low angle Hollywood shot, with the emphasis clearly being on the characters' top halves of their bodies, and the way Lecter towers over Clarice, with his side of the glass being lighter and therefore more overbearing than Clarice's which is dimly lit, centering her as a person.

As Lecter tells Clarice more information in this shot, there's a slow zoom onto their faces, which I think really emphasizes the fear he holds over her here. The closeness of the shot eliminates anyone and anything else in the shot and the low angle of the camera makes their relationship much more terrifying for the viewer, as the angle looks slightly obscure and it makes Lecter look more powerful than he has in the scene so far. To compare it to a shot before, he is directly from Clarice's point of view, about the same height as the camera, looking powerless behind the glass on his own. There's a stark contrast here to this shot because of the change in the camera angle, especially as this is the first shot in the scene when he is closest to Clarice, with both their faces showing. Before this, both their heads could be seen in the shot, but never their faces and expressions at the same time. I think this clearly represents the first point at which their relationship is presented as raw, with Clarice being shown as afraid for the first time and seeming more vulnerable around Lecter.