The Silence of the Lambs: Opening Analysis

 

 

This is one of the first few shots of the film ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. It is a high-angled shot, as the camera is looking down on the main character, who can be seen near the bottom of the screen. The fact that the camera is high-angled means that Clarice Starling (the protagonist) comes across quite vulnerable and defenceless, as it gives the feeling that someone could be watching her from above. The transition into this shot is quite a slow camera movement, which connotes someone waiting and watching secretly. The long shot, or establishing shot used shows the setting for the first few scenes, which is often seen in thriller films for this purpose. The fact that she is a woman would usually indicate a weak character; however we can see that she is completing the obstacle course quickly, and therefore understand that she is unlike other female characters, and is strong and determined. The mise-en-scene is quite foggy and the lighting is low key which makes it harder to see what else might be around Clarice and what danger might be waiting. The forest setting also emphasizes this atmosphere of danger because she is alone in quite a remote place. 

 

There are many shots like this throughout the film that contrast Clarice to a group of different characters. It is often made clear that she is a female character surrounded by males that scrutinise everything she does. Jack Crawford, Dr Frederick Chilton, Dr Hannibal Lecter and her colleagues are male characters that surround her and show that she has a difficult time trying to prove herself as an agent. However, this soon stops affecting her, and in ways the sexism seems to make her more focused on her work, as she tries to prove herself. In this shot, her sweater is grey while the men in the elevator are wearing red, again showing a difference between her and the other characters. As she enters the lift, some of the men look at her for a moment in a way that suggests they doubt her capability as an agent. She ignores it, showing that it doesn’t bother her, or stop her from trying hard. Clarice is one of the only female characters that are not a victim of a crime in the film, which shows that she is a more powerful female and an anti-stereotype.

 

As with many thriller films, we see parts of it through the perspective of the protagonist. The still shot is an example of this because we are seeing Jack Crawford from how Clarice is seeing him. He is looking directly into the camera as if looking into Clarice’s eyes and speaking to her. The shot is a close-up into Jack’s face which implies that he is saying something very important that the viewers and the protagonist should remember. Behind his head there are lots of newspaper clippings about a murderer, showing that the FBI is currently investigating him. In this scene Crawford states that what he is asking Starling to do is not related to this murderer, but as we constantly see these newspaper clippings in this scene we are forced to disagree.

 

This is an over the shoulder shot, and as this scene is in the cell block where Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’Lecter is kept, it gives the eerie impression that perhaps someone is looking over Dr Chilton’s shoulder at Clarice. The lighting is quite dark apart from the red light, making the colours in the shot almost completely black or red. The red has connotations of danger and blood, which is obviously suitable for where Lecter stays. Just before this scene, we are warned of a crime that he has previously committed. Chilton shows Clarice a photo of a nurse, and it is said that Lecter ‘ate her tongue’. Even without the viewer seeing the photo, it creates a very uncomfortable atmosphere as Clarice is about to be deal with this man, and builds tension as we wait to see how this turns out. A cell door can be seen behind the characters giving a sense of being locked in with this criminal and feeling claustrophobic. Even before this shot, we see the two characters walking through a large number of corridors with these kinds of doors being locked behind them. This gives an idea of entrapment and emphasises how dangerous Lecter is that he needs this level of security to keep people protected form him.

 

 

This is a close-up to Hannibal Lecter’s (the villain) face. Throughout the scene the shots begin quite far away from Lecter and get increasingly closer, making the viewer feel more and more uncomfortable. This is the closest shot, and is one of few that do not have the glass between the camera and Lecter. This makes us feel as though we are in the cell with an incredibly dangerous criminal. Again, we are seeing from the protagonist’s perspective so that we can empathise with her.