#7: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

"It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told."

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a young FBI agent-in-training, is pulled from her regular duties in order to interview Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a former psychiatrist who was incarcerated in a high security mental health institution after it was discovered that he was a cannibalistic serial killer. Starling's boss, Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn), believes that Lecter may be intrigued enough by Starling (who is, apparently, exactly the sort of woman he used to prey upon) that he may aid the FBI with its current problem: "Buffalo Bill", a serial killer who skins his victims before disposing of the bodies. As it turns out, Crawford is correct in his assumption, and Lecter begins to provide insight into the mind and motives of Bill- but only in return for intimate knowledge of Starling's own personal demons . . .

Beneath the surface this film shares a lot of the same qualities of Alien- it's a psychological thriller in which a strong woman is forced to deal with a monster. But its also an excellent crime film, providing a fairly realistic portrayal of the hunt for a serial killer.

As mentioned in the post on Psycho, this film (based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris) was loosely based on serial killer Ed Gein, who skinned his victims for similar reasons to the fictional Buffalo Bill. But its also influenced by another real-life monster: Ted Bundy, a charismatic and intelligent man whose mask of sanity concealed a brutal murderer. Bundy was used as the basis for the fascinating character of Hannibal Lecter, who is this film's biggest asset despite only appearing in it for sixteen minutes. It's always great to see a character written as intelligently as Lecter, and his battle of wills with Starling is a joy to watch play out.

Then there's Starling herself, a diminutive woman fighting an uphill battle to be respected in a male-dominated profession (a battle between the sexes that is reflected by Buffalo Bill's complete objectification of women.) Noble, strong, and yet secretly vulnerable, I really have to hand it to Jodie Foster- she's absolutely perfect in the role.

And let's not forget Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill, who manages to portray a man both terrifying and pitiful . . . though I have to admit that I've seen this film so many times that I have a hard time finding the famous scene with the girl in the well as anything other than hilarious. There's just something inherently funny about Levine's voice, you know?

Don't judge me.

Check back tomorrow for #6!