100 Movies Every Catholic Should See #129: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Directed by Jonathan Demme. Starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

Warning: This film contains intense and graphic subject matter.

We now come to what is the most terrifying of all the films to be included in our recommendations: The Silence of the Lambs. Jonathan Demme’s magnum opus is the only horror movie to win Best Picture, and one of only three films (It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) to win the Big 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay). It continues to dominate pop culture, “Greatest Films of All Time” lists, and the horror film ecosystem as if it came out last year. After a few rewatches, I will confidently declare that it absolutely lives up to all of these accolades, and even has substantial thematic value lying at its heart.

The Silence of the Lambs is based on the Thomas Harris novel of the same name, and takes place within what has become known as the Red Dragon universe. The premise is that a young up-and-coming FBI agent, Clarice Starling, has been tasked with interviewing renowned psychiatrist and serial cannibal Hannibal Lecter. Lector’s intellectual prowess is needed to help catch serial killer and transvestite Buffalo Bill before more victims are claimed. What ensues is a thrilling and truly terrifying descent into the depths of the human mind and trauma that can tell us just as much about ourselves as it does its characters.

With how extreme and graphic some of the content within this chilling tale may be, it has a shockingly Catholic focus on trauma. Through all the terror, The Silence of the Lambs is about how we approach and handle trauma, and how it can help us either overcome great evil or become that great evil. All of the characters within this film have some sort of grief or traumatic experiences that they are struggling with, with Clarice’s even being the title of the film. Through her willingness to help others and her commitment to what is right, she can confront these hardships and become stronger to contend with those who choose to exact their revenge and perpetuate darkness in the world. Our protagonist is not some pompous, moral elitist who sees herself as the master of the universe (as is the case with most modern female protagonists), but someone flawed and willing to adjust to mistakes they or others have made. Clarice emulates what we are all called to do as Catholics: to persevere through difficult times and stay true to morality and justice. We may stare in the face of unspeakable evil and be mocked by it, but trusting in Christ and staying true to Him is our only hope.

The Academy Award-winning screenplay by Ted Tally is done with such care and mastery that it’s difficult to think he has not had more success since this project. With the two primary villains on real individuals (Ted Bundy and Ed Gein, for Buffalo Bill and Alfredo Ballí Treviño for Hannibal Lector), this adaptation of Harris’s chilling universe feels all the more rooted and disturbing. Characters will tear each other down in intellectual cat-and-mouse games, reducing each other to archetypes while maintaining their aura and integrity. SOTL manages to take a mature look at female objectification and the difficulty that can be faced by women in some lines of work. While this topic generally gains an eye roll and feels disingenuous in modern film, this struggle helps subtly move the plot forward in an intelligent manner.

Demme’s trip into the heart of darkness is a masterclass of craft. Much of SOTL’s power lies in its cinematography, editing and score. Cinematographer Takashi Fujimoto (Signs, The Sixth Sense, Badlands) and Jonathan Demme chose to focus on the human face for a large portion of the shot composition. This unique style of shooting subjects head-on heightens the drama and tension to new heights. We are not only stuck in a room with evil, but we must stare it straight in the face. We are hypnotized, trapped, and above all, fearful. While it is popular now to romanticize serial killers and sometimes even make them sympathetic, SOTL forces us to reckon directly with the matter at hand without any of the glamour. Evil is evil, and at the end of the day, there is no getting around it. No moral relativism, no misunderstood antagonists, no “both sides are wrong”. Editing and framing merely add to this, with every cut feeling as intentional as would be seen in a Tarkovsky film. When parallel scenes occur, they seem together in a flawless rhythm that many only dream of imitating. The tense build-up to the discovery of Buffalo Bill is perhaps one of the greatest examples of parallel storytelling in the history of the medium, and has never been replicated with quite as much skill.

While many may know Howard Shore for what is perhaps the greatest and most ambitious score of all time in The Lord of the Rings, The Silence of the Lambs demonstrates that he had the talent long before he collaborated with Peter Jackson. Shore at times takes over this film as Bernard Hermann took over Psycho, with pounding and ambient melodies drawing the most out of what already is a technical marvel. Ideas and styles can be heard throughout that later show up in LOTR, but The Silence of the Lambs is able to differentiate itself with a sort of Danny Elfman flair, with a character of its own.

Perhaps the most famous and notable draw for this film is its acting. Every cast member, down to the most minute extra, is at the peak of their craft. All of the stars aligned and were dependent on the actors, and boy, did they show up. Originally, Michelle Pfieffer was supposed to play Clarice Starling, and Sean Connery as Hannibal Lecter. Thankfully (no disrespect meant), this did not pan out. Jodie Foster, fresh off her Oscar win for The Accused, landed the role of Clarice, and honestly is the only person who could have played the part. When Anthony Hopkins was informed by his agent that he was getting a script for a film called “The Silence of the Lambs”, Hopkins asked, “Is it a children’s story?”. After 10 pages, he declared it was the best role he’d ever read, and then took on the task of playing one of the greatest villains in all fiction. Despite only being on screen for 24 minutes and 52 seconds, Hopkins becomes the face of this film and was able to win a Best Actor Oscar on one of the shortest performances in the history of the award. This award was well deserved, as everything about this performance is awe-inspiring.

Supposedly, both Foster and Hopkins were intimidated by each other, and only became friends after filming had wrapped. This tension is palpable throughout and is sort of the cherry on top that solidifies it as perhaps the greatest modern horror film. Ted Levine gives an incredibly disturbing and whimsical performance as Buffalo Bill, and went as far as to improv the infamous “Goodbye Horses” dance scene. Levine is almost absurd, but then again, someone who would do such horrible things would, in fact, be absurd. He is able to bring intensity and nuance to an incredibly demanding role that does not have a lot of room to express this range. Scott Glenn plays the supporting character of Jack Crawford with elegance to serve as a companion that would be found in a Tom Clancy story, without any of the camp. Crawford feels like a real person who can be found on a Wikipedia page and has an illustrious career with the FBI. The same can be said for all other characters, with such amazing attention to detail given to everyone.

Ultimately, The Silence of the Lambs requires a lot of spiritual maturity to discern if it is the right film to watch. Thematically, it has wonderful messaging, and from a craft perspective, it is a master class. Its content and some of its scenes can be quite graphic and disturbing, similar to how some parts of Dante’s Inferno or art portraying it could be considered. For seasoned viewers, Catholics, and horror fans, it is a journey worth embarking on, as the fight against evil is worth fighting for. It may be ugly, but it ultimately is edifying.