"The silence of the lambs" is an 1991 american psychological/crime thriller. It features two main characters, Dr. Hannibal (The Cannibal) Lecktor (Played by Anthony Tompkins) and Clarice Starling a Trainee FIB special agent (Played by Jodie Foster) The film is the second film to feature Hannibal the Cannibal, the first being the 1986 successful thriller Manhunter; though this is not a sequel.The Plot is quite typical of the Thriller genre, Foster's character Clarice is pulled from her training to interview, the cannibal and former psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecktor. With hope that he could give information and aid the capture of another serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill". This is our first reference to the Thriller genre, as crime is a comment element in the plots of Thrillers, and more specifically serial killers in Crime Thrillers. The plot in my opinion has two angles. The interview and escape of Dr. Hannibal I would consider to be the main plot, whereas the capture and investigation into "Buffalo Bill" is a sub plot to support this. I could be argued that its the other way around, but since Hannibal's relationship to Clarice is shown at the beginning and the end of the film I would consider this more important.
Typically of crime and psychological thrillers, the plot is rather complex and difficult to follow unless you have your full attention on the movie. Important information concerning the plot is all over the film and can sometimes be rather easy to miss. It contains clever twists towards the end, and unexpected events to keep the movie interesting and of high tension. Which a good thriller should have. The plot is mainly explained though dialogue, but there are also scenes of action and suspense. While the dialogue and script keeps the thriller complex, clever and interesting. The action and suspense keeps it engaging and exciting. There is a lot of tension in this film.
Tension is created in several ways. First being the music, it is mainly eerie, which can be seen at the beginning. And also piano pieces are used which is in the scene below. The lightning is also mainly low key through out the film, more so when Clarice finds Buffalo Bill.The film also features gore and death, a very common element of thriller films. This can be seen when Hannibal kills the two guards and hangs up one of the bodies. He also cuts of one of their faces and uses it as a mask. The serial killer Buffalo Bill also trying to make a woman suit out of skin and parts of women he has killed by making the tension in the skin lesson with lotion. This is done to both shock the audience and keep them interested in the movie and discover the reason behind these things. The moth on the film poster and cover has a skull on it symbolizing death.
The two main characters also suit the thriller genre quite well. Clarice Starling is a trainee special agent for the FBI, a very suitable thriller main protagonist occupation. She is an independent woman, who appears to have a lot of aspiration to achieve. Like the main character in most thrillers, she is alone in the film. She also has a troubled background, which she reveals to Hannibal when interviewing him. Her father was shot, and she then runs away from her new home after witnessing some lambs being slaughtered (The origin of the films title.) She then lives in an orphanage. Troubled backgrounds again is a convention of thriller characters. She is also a strong character she manages to resist Hannibal's clever manipulation and also defeats the serial killer "Buffalo Bill" in a dark basement and manages to hold her nerve. She is a good example of a thriller protagonist the only unusual factor about her character is that she is female, which isn't very common in thrillers and she also has a quite innocent appearance. However Hannibal would not be interviewed if this was not so.Dr. Hannibal Lecktor is a very unusual character in the films, but is also very conventional. As he is one of the antagonist, but also has a supporting protagonist role in this film. (You can say this as he does help to assist Starling in the capture of Buffalo Bill). Hannibal is a serial killer and well known criminal. He is consider highly dangerous and feared by many. His character is also very intelligent and manipulative another common convention of antagonists. He has a very significant impact on Starling after there first interview. His killer instinct and intelligence can be seen in this scene.
In my overall opinion this is a very good thriller film. It is engaging, clever and eerie and has a great sense of mystery behind Hannibal's character. The film is a good example of a thriller and also a crime film. As the story is plausible and based of real murders, and serial killers. It characters for me define this film as a thriller the most, and the music and plot supports this.
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