Friday, October 5, 2012

"First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular thing ask:...


. . . what is it in itself? What is its nature? What does he do, this man you seek?"
The Silence of the Lambs - (said by Hannibal Lector/Anthony Hopkins)

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There are a few films in my life that I've watched over and over again. Silence of the Lambs is one of them. I saw this movie before I knew it was a novel, and I saw it before I read the accompanying novels "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal." 

Since then, I've read all of the novels and I've seen the films. Of all of them, Silence of the Lambs is (hands-down) the best. Perhaps it's the chemistry between Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins that is most compelling. Stories about serial killers are a dime a dozen these days. Gruesome details abound in real life, and a fiction author is sure to put together a combination of details from news stories (old and new) in order to stupefy and scare readers out of their google-eyed minds. Silence of the Lambs utilizes some grotesque scenes to horrify watchers, but for the most part the scenes are done with taste. . . a gruesome finesse. 

And, for me, it's the mind game play between Agent Starling and Dr. Lector that is ultra-seductive, savory and alluring. Part of me has always wished I knew a Hannibal Lector in real life, and wondered if I'd be worthy in his eyes. And should it, or would it matter if I was? I've enjoyed this movie so often, and was eager to watch it again. This film is one that never disappoints and never fails to leave me with a little chill at the end that chases me into my dreams at night. It's one that makes me shudder with the flutter of a moth's wings against my cheek and sends me to peek into the depths of depravity of man's secret desires. Alone.


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6 comments:

  1. You do know a Hannibal Lecter. He's Joe Borrelli. Think about it. That charisma, the plying intellect, the insouciance. It's Borrelli.

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    1. Nah. Joe's a Bunny Rabbit. Maybe more Mad World style. You, Chris, you're the closest to Hannibal yet. You just need to bring out the charisma that lurks under that quiet facade. :)

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  2. The scenes are done with "taste." I agree (and, at the same time, wonder if you were making a pun). This film - in the hands of a lesser filmmaker - could have been a cheap bloodbath. Thankfully, Demme (and the incomparable Hopkins and Foster), turned it in to a work of art. Good review!

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  3. Electric-Girl,

    How sweet to know my wit was not left unnoticed. A bad pun to be sure, but saying Lector helped Starling "take a bite out of crime" would be a bit over the top, don't you think? ;) It was a short review, but since Lector made short work in the novel, I saw no need to beat the review to death. Why spoil it? I do have a new daily health mantra though:
    "A little lotion a day keeps the hose away . . ."

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  4. May Lecter never have you over for dinner. Great post.

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    1. Thanks Dwight. If he does, I hope he serves me and doesn't SERVE me. :)

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