The current paper is devoted to analyzing the cinematic techniques applied in the classic horror movie called The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme. The film was chosen from the AFI top 100 of 100 years.
The movie Silence of the Lambs is a classic horror that has tremendous success even today. The film is truly terrifying because of its gloomy atmosphere, outstanding actors’ performance, sound effects, and framing. The last aspect primarily includes the cinematic techniques, that help the director convey the film’s main ideas and allow the viewer to feel the emotions of the characters better. In the Silence of the Lambs, the director, Jonathan Demme applies camera movements and angles techniques, combining them with specific sounds to express the idea that psychopaths have a unique world perception.
The film primarily expresses the psychological aspects of the psychopath criminal’s complicated perception of life. As a result, the film contains numerous thoroughly planned dialogues directing the viewer to understand the nature of psychopathy. Demme strives to say that morality is just a mere ruling tool created by society. Only those who reject it can be genuinely different from others. One of the tools to present this idea in the movie is the camera shots. The director uses close-ups during the dialogues between Lector and Clarice (Demme). This type of framing is usually implemented to establish direct eye contact with the viewers to connect them with the character emotionally (Ackerman et al. 181). The Lector’s face is shown through the close-ups, while the Clarice image is represented through the mid-shots (Demme). Such distribution of frames depicts that the viewers should associate themselves with Clarice while Hannibal is the one to be understood.
There are also many establishing shots during the violent scenes. They are used to show the significance of malicious actions for the murderer and the whole world (Llamas-Rodriguez 31). Camera angles and movements are other tools applied in the film to correlate the malicious murders with the art. High-angle and panning are usually implemented to convey the greatness of the scene (Llamas-Rodriguez 30). Thus, the director uses these techniques primarily when depicting violently mutilated corpses. Moreover, some camera angles are chosen to correlate with the particular art notions. For example, when Hannibal kills the guard listening to classical music, he raises his hands and closes his eyes as though he is praying (Iswati et al. 179). The camera angle shows the corpse in the center of the frame and the killer as a mere follower of something greater than life. The director also inserts full shots to represent the contradiction between Clarice and Hannibal (Demme). The low-angle appliance shows their attempt to understand the world each other. Thanks to that, the characters and the role of their opposition are highlighted.
Another cinematic technique that conveys essential ideas is music and sound accompaniment. Here the director implements classical music during the murder scenes showing that for Hannibal, crime is art. This method to connect psychopathy and art is a common aspect of cinematography born thanks to this film. The director emphasizes the idea that art is something that obedient members of society cannot understand. Many scenes are silent in the movie, conveying an atmosphere of unpredictability. It helps the viewer to focus on the facial expressions of the characters and the ideas represented through the long shots.
Therefore, the Silence of the Lamb has many cinematographic techniques which transfer the necessary ideas. The basic patterns which the director uses are the close-ups and long shots to establish the emotional connection with the characters. Moreover, classical music and particular camera angles are applied to compare the psychiatric worldview with great pieces of art. These techniques allow the film to leave a lasting impression on the viewer.
Works Cited
Ackerman, Thomas et al. “The Role of Cinematic Techniques in Understanding Character Affect.” Scientific Study of Literature, vol. 7, no. 2, 2017, pp. 177-202. Web.
Demme, Jonathan, director. The Silence of the Lambs. Strong Heart Productions, 1991.
Iswati, Titik et al. “Politeness Strategy Used by The Antagonist and The Protagonist Characters in “The Silence of the Lambs”.” Linguistik Terapan, vol. 14, no. 2, 2018, pp. 172-181. Web.
Llamas-Rodriguez, Juan. “Toward a Cinema of Slow Violence.” Film Quarterly, vol. 71, no. 3, 2018, pp. 27-36. Web.