THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - PROFILING A SERIAL KILLER

The Silence of the Lambs is a crime thriller from 1991.  This is one of the rare films to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director.  The film is often referred to as a horror film because it deals with two different serial killers.  Dr. Lecter, brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins, is an incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer.  Jodie Foster, giving one of her best performances, stars as FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling.  The FBI wants to use Lecter to help create a profile of the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, who is murdering women in several states.   The FBI sends Starling, an agent in training, to persuade Lecter to help with the investigation.  Starling and Lecter are intrigued by each other, and Lecter agrees to assist.  As the serial killer kidnaps a senator’s daughter, the stakes become even higher. 

The writing in Silence of the Lambs is brilliant.  The discussions between Clarice and Lecter are chilling.  While Lecter is a violent serial killer, he is physically powerless as he is imprisoned behind a glass wall in a maximum-security prison.  His words are now his sole weapons for manipulating, controlling, and even murdering people.  Clarice initially appears to have little power, but she proves that she can manipulate the manipulator in their conversations.  As they work together in drafting a profile, Lecter wants to know more about Clarice-possibly out of human interest or to use against her.  Clarice thinks she's interviewing Lecter to build a profile of Buffalo Bill, while Lecter is simultaneously building a profile of Clarice.  Clarice, however, offers Lecter the possibility of being transferred to a better facility in exchange for his help.  Their discussions become a quid pro quo, with each receiving information in exchange for revealing something the other wants to know.  Ted Tally does a great job of making these scenes engaging and tension-filled.   

One of the strongest themes throughout the film is the feeling of isolation.  You feel sorry for Starling as she is brought in on this case by her boss.  She is often the only woman in the room and usually has to assert her authority over the men in order to get her job done.  Furthermore, many scenes take place in isolated areas, including the countryside and small towns, where this particular serial killer disposes of his victims' bodies.  The isolation becomes even more pronounced when her boss and his team pursue the wrong lead while Starling follows her own hunch, based partly on direction she received from Lecter.  In the end, it is Starling’s determination and personal strength that enable her to overcome the odds and resolve the case.  Lecter, on the other hand, experiences isolation literally, confined alone in a single cell.  Even while physically confined, Lecter demonstrates that his words can be deadly, manipulating another person into taking his own life.  Lecter is motivated to assist in creating the killer's profile by the possibility of being transferred to a facility with better conditions and greater freedom. 

The violence may earn the film its R rating, but it is the psychological battle between Clarice and Lecter that makes The Silence of the Lambs so unsettling.

TF’s Notes:  The Silence of the Lambs raises an interesting question:  How reliable is a serial killer’s help in creating a profile of a different serial killer?  One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is that the FBI relies on an incarcerated serial killer to help create a profile of another serial killer who is still at large.  Clearly, the audience understands that the FBI relies on Lecter because he is a former psychiatrist whose intellect and experience could be extremely helpful.  However, he also has specific insight into the case because he himself is a serial killer.  In reality, there have been instances in which police or the FBI have sought input from incarcerated serial killers. Investigators in Washington State consulted Bundy for insight into the psychology and possible behavior of the unidentified Green River Killer.  Although Bundy's opinions did not lead to an immediate breakthrough—the Green River Killer was not arrested until 17 years later—that does not necessarily mean his input lacked value.  At the time, Bundy was fighting to delay or prevent his own execution.  So, while Bundy was helping Washington police understand the Green River Killer, it is entirely possible that Bundy was also profiling the investigators, hoping to use his cooperation as leverage to delay his own execution.  Perhaps that is what makes Lecter such a compelling character: even when the FBI believes it is using him, you are never quite sure whether Lecter is actually using the FBI.