Analysis of first 15 minutes of 'The Silence of the Lambs'

The silence of the lambs starts off in a dim woods with bare trees and a light blue filter to connote the morning, extreme long shots are used to see the scenery clearly and fully set where the film is taking place. Then, we see a woman- who we guess is the protagonist- running through the woods. From the non-digetic sounds of a deep orchestra playing (which makes the scene seem more sinister and intriguing) we believe she is running away from someone/something. There are medium close ups of the woman sweating and quick shots of her feet running through the leaves. There is also digetic sounds of the main character breathing heavily, running through the leaves and some gun shots.  The woman alone in the woods represents isolation and we fear for her however it soon is revealed that she is running an assault course and female stereotypes are abolished. We learn that she is a FBI agent from the small section of dialogue using a medium shot with her and another agent. The scene in the woods lasts for five minutes and only shows the main character running with black block titles. 

Next, the main character- who we discover is 
named Clarice Starling- goes into the FBI office.
Long shots are used to show the office and the mise-en-scene is very manly for example we see things such as guns, gadgets and most characters are male. Clarice is a woman in a man’s world and stands out immensely in the scene as she is small and female among large, strong men. We see this being represented in the lift scene as she is the only woman with several other men. Colours are important here as all the men are wearing red which connotes danger and blood, this could be foreboding that the male gender is a huge threat in this film to Clarice as she is wearing a muted blue colour which could connote her weakness. Further throughout the film we have more of an idea of Clarice’s character as learn she is more masculine, again disproving female stereotypes. As Clarice enters the office there is a pan and it focuses on a medium shot of a board which is evidence towards a serial killer.

It then zooms in to close ups of each photo so we can clearly see the horrors and dangers of this man who is named ‘Buffalo Bill’. The pictures are very graphic however this fits in with psychological horror conventions. Then there is a zoom on the local newspaper stating: “Bill skins fifth”.

This proves the serial killer is extreme and unlike others.  A male characters comes in and speaks to Clarice, he is her boss, and proves to be the dominant character as she is only a training agent. Here, we have some backstory to Clarice that she is very intelligent and takes her job seriously, we see she can stand up for herself as she corrects him. Also in this conversation we get an idea of the plot-line, he wants Clarice to go and interview an old serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, so they can understand ‘Buffalo Bill’ as Lecter used to eat his victims. He tells her to report what he looks like, his cell and if he’s drawing anything.  In the conversation it starts off using Medium close-ups then each time zooms in further to their faces by using close-ups. Shot-reverse-shot is used to keep a clear idea of who’s talking and their facial expressions.
 

We cut to the next scene and it is a extreme long shot of a big house/mansion which where Lecter is imprisoned, there is a sign in the corner revealing the name and confirming it is an asylum.

The scene inside the asylum is in another office with another male and similar shots are used to the previous conversation, the male tries to flirt with Clarice however she turns him down politely. Again male dominance is portrayed as he is behind a desk and therefore connotes that he has more power. He gives Clarice the rules; how she should speak to Lecter and not to get too close to his cell. With rules in place it implies he is extremely dangerous but could also demonstrate that he believes she is weak and can’t cope as she is a woman. They walk to his 
cell and suddenly there is a red filter amplifying danger and blood, this links with the lift scene. The two characters have a conversation and speak about the background of Lecter, about how he ate his victims, there is a photo that Clarice see’s but isn’t revealed to the viewer, so we are left to imagine through her facial expressions, which creates more intrigue and suspicion.

They approach another room and the red filter dies down but the scene is underexposed so it is very eerie and sinister, there is a pan of the ‘control room’ from her point of view so we feel scared as we aren’t sure what to expect. There is another close up of a man who repeats the same rules.

As these murderers are in a separate enclosed room we know that they are the most dangerous and Clarice should be careful. There is more dialogue stating where Lecter’s cell is and then the gate is slammed shut. It has a large digetic bang which connotes the fear of her being trapped. The man reassures her from the other side of the bars.  She then walks past other inmates in the same area as Lecter and they have bars separating Clarice from them, some are close to the bars and some sit peacefully in their cells. It switches from medium close ups of Clarice and shots of walking in Clarice’s point of view using hand held shot.

The final male shouts something inappropriate at Clarice and gives connotations he is crazy. The underexposed effect is followed through so we know danger is still ahead. There is a non-digetic sound of sinister music playing to create tension and to signify that something is about to happen. When she gets to Lecter’s cell his is different to everyone else’s demonstrating he is more threatening.
Clarice is very polite to him hoping he will trust her. Even though she is supposed to be interviewing him, Lecter asks the questions wanting to see her identity,this implies that he has the power and is more dominant than her. Shot reverse shot is used so we clearly see who is speaking. He is very demanding and repeats the word ‘closer’ to get her near his cell. As he walks forward we see his face more clearly and it becomes a close up, then there is a close up of Clarice to see her facial expression- she doesn't look scared which proves how strong she is.

Medium shots using shot reverse shot is used in the continuing dialogue and Lecter questions Clarice’s authority as she is only a trainee. Extreme close ups of Lecter’s face are used but only medium shots of Clarice, this amplifies Lecters facial expression and makes him appear more creepy. She then asks about his drawings and it zooms into one of them on the wall of his cell but quickly pans back to a close up of his face to emphasise he dominates this scene. 

Overall, in silence of the lambs we have a female character who abolishes all stereotypes and shows that women can be strong. It follows the psychological thriller conventions as it is about the mind of a serial killer and figuring him out. Quick camera movements and eerie music was used at the start also demonstrating how it fits in with the genre. A sense of realism is created through the miss-en-scene to represent the psychological thriller genre, the clothes Clarice and other characters are normal and fit their roles, for example Clarice dresses smart in the conversation with Lecter to denote she is a smart and professional while Lecter is wearing prison clothes as he is a criminal however they both wear dark clothes to create tension alongside the low key lighting. The locations of the opening fifteen minutes add to the genre as it is set in an office and an asylum to further provide realism. The silence of the lambs creates tension through using underexposed lighting and close ups which create a eerie effect.