Eat your Heart Out: With Fava Beans and Nice Chianti

When FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned to speak with the elusive Dr. Hannibal Lector, a psychopathic cannibal that has been locked away from humanity in a high security prison for the last ten years, secrets related to a recent onslaught of murders begin to bubble to the surface. In the search for Buffalo Bill, a hardened killer that slaughters and then skins his victims, Dr. Lector proves most useful, only his advice and clues have a certain, shall we say, price. Intellectual, brutal, conniving, and charismatic, Lector knows more than he will allow and every tidbit he shares is a carefully crafted clue to a long ranging scheme. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Cinemagraphicly exquisite, magnificently acted, complimented by a circuitous plot, and a macabre overtone, Silence of the Lambs combines intense mystery with shocking horror to create one of the most masterful films of the 20th century.

Anthony Hopkins (the delightfully dour Dr. Lector) and Jodi Foster (seductive secret Agent Starling) stole the production with their emotionally intense, intellectual battle, dictating the future of the Hannibal Lector series as one of mystery and imagination. As Lector, a brilliant serial killer with a taste for vengeance against the “free range rude” of society, proves a villain that, albeit intensely evil, nonetheless manages to capture the viewer’s heart with his own inner soul of darkness. Captivating, charming, and terrifyingly clever, Hannibal plays the viewer’s emotions expertly, hinting at clues just outside of reach, prodding the imagination to embrace the dark corridors of the soul, sojourning through the inner workings of evil to finally understand the heart of a murderer, and solve a perplexing case. To understand, one must first become . . .

His intellectual equal, and antithesis, Agent Starling, proves a mind worth matching, inducing the sociopathic Hannibal to play a mental game of chess where the stakes are impossibly high. Starling, as good as Hannibal is evil, plays Hannibal’s game, perhaps better than the master, and out of this sparring, this interplay between good and evil, this attraction between savior and executioner, the beauty of the series develops. With two such consummate actors, Anthony Hopkins and Jodi Foster take their roles seriously and become their characters. The audience does not watch actors, but instead observes the transformation of two normal people into two extraordinary individuals, one a villain, one a savior. But in the end, who will prove the intellectual master of the other? The stakes are life and death. For the defeated, it means death. For the winner, it means ultimate control. Will good or evil triumph?

Structured around the intense, addicting interplay between the wonderfully charismatic, well mannered murderer and his female counterpart, the plot develops, lending itself to scenes of brutal carnage, shocking revelation, and the plans of another serial killer who might even rival Hannibal for his depth of evil. As Starling follows Hannibal’s carefully laid clues, Buffalo Bill continues his desperate acts of slaughter and gore, leading to some of the most disturbing scenes and concepts to ever grace the big screen. Horror, horror everywhere, and far too much to spare.
As the plot accelerated, the stakes are upped and Hannibal’s carefully laid schemes begin to come to fruition as Buffalo Bill prepares another lamb for the slaughter. The plot twists down dark corridors of the imagination, peppering the emotionally intense story with thriller elements, leading the viewer through scenes of danger and redemption, death and escape until the final climatic battle comes down. Unpredictable, heart stopping and edge of the seat, the conclusion delivers, hitting the viewer between the eyes.

As the end credits role, perhaps the most incredible element that strikes the viewer is the character connection. Subtly, through striking revelations, acting talent, and obvious emotional portrayals, the characters have become real people. Although the mystery has been wrapped up and everything has been nicely wrapped up, with a cliff hanger ending intermixed into the neatly concluded story, the viewer wants to hear more from Clarice and Hannibal, the two stars of the drama. While each is incredibly different, they somehow managed to capture the viewer’s soul, and despite the limitations of fiction, the viewer somehow imagines them as being real figures that, although the story has concluded, are still living and breathing just out of sight. Luckily, the director’s realized the audience’s connection with the leading characters and many sequels (all excellently done) were produced. Once you have finished watching Silence of the Lambs it will be impossible to resist the sequels. Unequivocally recommended!!!


The Hannibal Lector Series:
 
Silence of the Lambs
Red Dragon
Hannibal
Manhunter
Hannibal Rising