Plot summary (with spoilers): FBI trainee Clarice Starling gets called in to see her boss, Jack Crawford. He's got an assignment for her. She's to go to the Baltimore State Hospital for the criminally insane and do a psychological profile on a prisoner there. Starling wonders if this is connected to the famous serial killer currently at large, Buffalo Bill. Why no, Starling. Not at all, as I sit here framed by Buffalo Bill newspaper clippings and crime scene photos. Run along, now. Starling travels to the hospital and is given the rundown by creepy creep Dr. Frederick Chilton, who first hits on her, then gives her the rules. Don't step near the glass. Don't hand him anything. Don't tell him anything personal about yourself. Don't take anything from him. Don't get him wet. Don't feed him after midnight.
Clarice is sufficiently spooked, and so are we, so it's time for a long walk down a hallway past a row of imprisoned weirdos and scary lighting and music, until she reaches Dr. Hannibal Lecter's cell. And he's just...standing there, in the middle of the room, with a smile on his face. Like a coiled snake, getting ready to spring. She asks him to fill out the questionnaire. He pretends to consider it. There's thick glass between them, but it feels like he could crush her dead at any time. He mocks her accent, and cheap shoes. She's practically quivering.
I ate his liver with some fava beans and some nice chianti. Phtt phtt phtt phtt!!!!
She turns to leave, and the crazy guy next door cums into her hair. You sir, are a creepy crazy guy, but I admire your ability to aim. Lecter calls her back, tells her to seek out an old patient of his. He then screams at her to go, because it's more cinematic that way.
Clarice can't find the patient Lecter spoke of, but instead finds a storage garage in his name. Inside is the man's dead body. Clarice and Crawford assist in the autopsy, and Clarice discovers a moth inside the man's throat. Clarice goes back to Lecter, who tells her that he didn't kill the man, and that Buffalo Bill probably did. He tells her he knew Buffalo Bill, and could help her find him if she can offer him a transfer to a different facility, away from creepy Chilton. Clarice learns from her boss that this was the plan all along, to enlist Lecter's help in finding Bill before he strikes again.
A pleasantly plump woman is on a walk when she sees a man with a broken arm attempting to load a sofa into the back of a van. Ah, poor guy. She should totally help him. Oh. Shit.
As it turns, out, the girl was the daughter a Tennessee Senator, and Clarice returns to Lecter with the offer of a transfer to a different prison with a view, and one week of freedom per year on an island. But Lecter wants more. Quid pro quo, Clarice. What happened to your parents? They died when I was young. Where did you go? To my uncle's ranch. How long were you there? Only two months, then I ran away. Why? Quid pro quo, doctor. Buffalo Bill is not a transsexual, but he thinks he is. Check and see who was recently denied for sexual reassignment surgery.
I think to them, this is like sex.
Chilton was secretly taping their conversation and goes to Lecter and breaks the news that Clarice was lying, that there's no offer from the senator, but if he tells Chilton the name of Buffalo Bill right now, he'll transfer him to another prison. Lecter says he'll only say it to the senator's face. Chilton orders the guards to strap Lecter down and make sure his face mask looks as terrifying as possible. Road trip!
In Tennessee, Chilton has to sign for Lecter's release to the new prison, but seems to have lost his pen. I'm sure that's nothing.
"It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again". You guys, I think Buffalo Bill might be a bit troubled.
Lecter tells the senator that Buffalo Bill's name is Louis Friend, and he's from Pennsylvania. He's also kind enough to compliment her suit, and inquire about her stance on nursing babies.
But what Lecter didn't count on was the Clarice was an anagram expert. She translates "Louis Friend" to "iron sulfide", also known as "fool's gold". God Hannibal, you're such a hipster douchebag.
She travels double quick to Tennessee, and bluffs her way into a visit with her hipster boyfriend. She admits to lying about the deal and apologizes, but begs him to tell her Bill's real name.
Quid pro quo. Why did you run away from the ranch? I woke up early. I heard screaming. I went out to the barn and saw them slaughtering lambs. The lambs were screaming. I took one and ran. I got about a mile down the road before I was picked up. I was sent away. You think if you catch Bill it will stop the screaming of the lambs? I don't know. I hope so.
Quid pro quo, Doctor.
No. Everything you need is in this case file.
Chilton and some guards show up, to drag Clarice out of there. She runs back for the file. Reaches through the bars. Lecter's finger grazes hers, once. It's their only physical contact.
(Unless, of course, you count the god damn fucking awful sequel Hannibal. The novel completely betrays the character of Clarice in the most despicable way imaginable, it's truly the finest example ever of a novelist spitting on his own legacy. Don't read it, ever. The film doesn't betray Clarice, but it's still pretty shitty).
Lecter sits, listens to his record. Two guards show up to feed him. They handcuff him to the bars. Chilton really should've kept better track of that pen. The guards are beaten to death, and Lecter basks in the afterglow, for a moment, savoring his refractory period.
Downstairs, the cops hear gunshots. They go up to the floor, and see one officer decoratively splayed out like he's king of the world, and another lying flat on the ground. His face is cut up and bloody. He still has a pulse! He's alive! Hang in there, buddy. Hold his hand! Talk to him. (Tell him about your childhood, he seems to like that). They sent him out in an ambulance, keep searching for Lecter. Blood drips into the elevator. The open the shaft. See Lecter a few floors below. He's been shot. Huh? When did that happen? Ooh, he must've shot himself! He's gonna wait until they get close and then strike! Oh, I'm so fucking nervous! They call out to him. He doesn't respond. They shot him in the leg. He doesn't flinch. Damn.
(Okay, so how much did the movie own you at this point? Did you A) Know it wasn't him? B) Think that the movie was being unrealistic, asking us to believe a man wouldn't flinch after being shot in the leg?, or C) sit in open mouthed awe of Hannibal Lecter, a man so badass he can get shot in the leg and not flinch? C for me. And I suspect C for most of you, too).
They open the elevator roof, the body flops down. Lecter kills some ambulance workers.
Clarice is convinced Lecter won't go after her, he would consider it rude. Heh. They really "get" each other, don't they? So cute.
After studying Lecter's annotations to the case file, Clarice finally figures out that Bill knew his first victim. She goes to the woman's house, sees pictures of her and learns that Bill was a taylor in town. She calls Crawford, excited about her new theory. Bill is making a skin suit out of women's bodies! Crawford tells her it's okay, they found the guy. They cross referenced something something hospital records blah blah his name is Jame Gumb. He's in Illinois. They're going there now. Clarice is disappointed she won't be in on the third act. She agrees to conclude her investigation by interviewing the mother of the first victim.
In Bill's lair, the senator's daughter attempts to bribe Precious with a bone, in order to knock her down the hole. Bill plays some music, looks creepy, dances around, inspires a generation of men to see what that looks like in the mirror at home in private with the shades drawn.
Ha! She grabs Precious. Don't you hurt my dog! Don't you make me hurt your dog!
Crawford and ten thousand FBI guys creep up to Bill's house. They ring the doorbell.
Inside, Bill's doorbell rings. He hurriedly climbs upstairs and puts on a shirt.
The FBI guys ring the bell again. No one answers.
Bill races to the door.
The FBI guys are confused.
Bill opens the door...to Clarice. Damn you, movie! That's twice! Clarice would like to speak to a Mrs. Something Something, but Bill tells her she doesn't live here anymore. He attempts to slam the door in her face, but she's persistent. Do you know where I can reach her? I think I have her number somewhere.
Come inside. Clarice takes a look around as they chat; she sees some sewing material, lots of fabric, a moth.
"FBI, FREEZE!" Bill slips around the corner. Clarice walks forward, gun drawn. Each step takes her closer to death, and yet the lambs compel her to keep walking. She finds Bill's underground lair. Walks down into it. She hears the senator's daughter calling for help and assures her that she's safe (my favorite laugh out loud part. "Safe"? Really, Agent Starling?)
Bill turns out all the lights, puts on night vision goggles. We see through his eyes, he's hunting Clarice, she's flailing about wildly. He's toying with her. He aims. Cocks his gun. She hears the gun, whirls around and fires! Fuck yeah!
Several months later, Clarice is promoted. She's at a party, and gets a phone call. Lecter wants to know if the lambs have stopped screaming. Clarice doesn't answer. He assures her she's safe, and that he's having an old friend for dinner. Look, it's Chilton. How nice, I guess they've made up.
Lecter hangs up and walks off into the distance with a crowd, until we can no longer see which one is him.
Review: Of course, this is one of the greatest movies ever, no doubt about it. The writing, directing, and acting were all perfect and in Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins created one of the most memorable and greatest movie villains ever. Much like Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men, Hannibal isn't actually in the movie a whole lot, but whenever he is, he dominates the proceedings, and casts a creepy deadly pall over every scene he's not in. There's no time at all that you're not thinking about him. But consider also Jodie Foster, she had to play a woman who basically for the entire run of the movie was varying degrees of afraid. Afraid of not getting her boss's approval, afraid of social awkwardness with men hitting on her, afraid of Lecter, and at the end, terrified of Bill. She played that note throughout the movie, but always kept it fresh and interesting. 50% of why Hannibal is scary is Anthony Hopkins, 25% is Jonathan Demme, and the other 25% is Jodie Foster. Lecter could never actually hurt her, because they were always separated. But Jodie's fear spread to us as easily as if we were there in the cell ourselves. Imbuing another actor with that kind of power and status while still being three dimensional yourself is extremely difficult.
The relationship between Lecter and Starling is a perversion of the classic "Beauty and the Beast" or "opposites attract" cliche in movies. The law of movies says they're supposed to fall in love. And they do, a little. But never in a way that's lewd or nasty or insults their character's dignity. Also, ten million points for never saying "Silence of the lambs", in the movie, even though it was sitting right there. "Screaming of the Lambs" is again a delightful perversion.
I honestly don't have a single beef with this movie. I guess if there's anything, it's that at its core, it's just a monster movie, with no philosophical point of view or message. Normally I won't give a movie five stars even if it's perfect, unless it's saying something, too. But it's the classiest monster movie probably ever, and that's enough for me.
Stars: Five out of five.
Next, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and then "The Shawshank Redemption", which I regret seeing for the first time last year, because I could be seeing it now for the first time.
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