Movie Details
| Title: | Silence of the Lambs | |
| Director: | Jonathan Demme | |
| Year: | 1991 | |
| Genre: | Thriller | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 09.06.26 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (2)
- The Manchurian Candidate
- Something Wild
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 09.06.26 | Internet | Grant and I were talking about this the other day and I was in the mood to watch a really good movie so I thought "why not?" I have often have this self-imposed pressure to watch something new since I'm not watching so many movies these days but often that pressure leads me on a 2-hour-long search for something that replaces the actual watching of the movie. On the other hand, when I was talking to Grant we probably mentioned two dozen movies I haven't seen in a while that I know are good and would enjoy watching again. Point in fact, I am absolutely shocked that this movie wasn't already in the journal. I so vividly remember seeing it so many times and I watched/listened to every second of the original Criterion DVD release but I guess that was all pre-2005. I have the blu-ray on the shelf but never put it in I guess. I could swear I've seen it recently though since most every scene is still committed to memory. The senator saying "You have the power" sampled in a Revolting Cocks song. My childhood friend's step-dad Lionel saying he helped build the obstacle course one summer when he was younger, "It puts the lotion in the basket," "Oh wait, was she a great big fat person?" All these moments I guess have not needed refreshing for 20 years. I did have some new insight on the movie though after so many years of not seeing it. I remember the direct-to-camera eye contact between Lecter and Starling but it's really everywhere, most notably between Scott Glenn/Jack Crawford and Starling. And we don't just see when they're looking at each other but we also see when they're not. It informs Lecter's analysis of Starling's character as she averts her eyes but I particularly loved the scene where Crawford and Starling are talking in the car. There's a POV shot of the back of Crawford's head from the back seat where Starling sits that wonderfully illustrates the power dynamic between the two. For her, getting his eye contact is a sign of respect but also puts us so inside the confusing mentor/mentee, boss/employee relationship but also father/daughter and, awkwardly because of Lecter's probing questions, searching for hints of romantic interest. All that to say: yeah the actors look into the camera but Demme's real genius is in how he uses that technique. Quite masterful. I mentioned this to Grant in a very poorly-communicated way so I'm going to try again here. I think it's down to when I saw the movie and where I was - on theatrical release my childhood friend (Camron, he of step-dad Lionel) talking about this new scary movie out that he really wants to see; me seeing it with my Mom I believe, living in Maryland for a few years then) - but certain shots and color palettes the movie uses, specifically the scene where they go to West Virginia to look at the body found in Elk River, imprinted on me in a way at to associate it with cinema. The drab browns and greens and yellows of an Appalachian winter comes with film grain in my mind. Characters applying white goo under their nose, leaving it to me the young viewer to surmise that it would help mask the smell; the difficult professionalism in their behavior as they look over the body; the glimpses we see of the body without any catering to gore-hounds or horror-movie reveals even though it's clear that the make-up was top notch. All these things just what I think of as movies. You see it in Jaws when they're evacuating the caught shark's stomach. You see it in the beginning of Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the flash bulbs going off at the exhumation site. You see it in the drab realism of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The scene is gruesome and uncomfortable but also clinical and procedural. It delivers mystery and elucidates character with how Starling deals with the room full of male police officers. To me it's a perfect scene. Not that it's the best scene in the movie or whatever, just what stuck with me. The rest of the movie is just as good and, guess what, it's less than two hours long. I remember watching for the first time barely keeping up with what's happening but each scene leads to the next with no fluff. You get character, you get plot, you get mystery, you get scares. Oh man, the absolute real fear on Jodie Foster's face at the climax of the film with the night-vision footage holy shit. When his hand comes up to her hair and face it's terrifying. But it's not a cop-out how she gets out of it. Just the noise of the hammer clicking activates her training and we know she's well-trained because we've seen like half a dozen scenes of her going through it! Even Lecter's point of view, which was most unclear to me as a kid, makes sense to me now. It's so hard to write a genius-level intellect but all the pieces do fit together. Alright. It's not like I'm convincing anyone that this is a good movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit although I would guess I'd last seen it maybe eight years ago, not more than 20. |
