The Silence of the Lambs (R, 1991)

common sense media says

Thriller that made the serial killer a superstar.

parents & educators say

33% say sexual content is an issue
27% say violence is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this Best Picture Oscar winner got condemned by both sides. Family-values advocates like Michael Medved called it too gruesome and disgusting (albeit well made) to deserve the Academy Award. Gay-rights activists said it stereotyped transgendered people as freakish monsters. Still, kids may be curious. The movie concerns extreme psychopaths and the graphic atrocities they commit, including references to twisted sexual urges and perversities. Much of the worst violence is offscreen, in autopsy photos or just discussed -- but that's close enough, and we witness some representative brutality and horror near the climax. The murderous psychologist-serial killer Hannibal Lecter is something of a "gentleman" killer, contrasted with the grotesque "Buffalo Bill," who is shown at one point fully nude. There is an oppressive atmosphere of menace, especially towards women.

Positive messages: While it likely wasn't the filmmaker's goal, this movie made serial killers look magnetic, brilliant, and like resourceful masterminds, thanks to the compelling Hannibal Lecter character. Meanwhile the rather less suave "Buffalo Bill" has been criticized for perpetuating the stereotype of transvestites and transsexuals as loathsome misfit maniacs. The overshadowed heroine, Clarice Starling, is a youngish female crimefighter of humble origins, with an idealistic streak to save innocent lives, who must approach Lecter's world of evil and madness without being engulfed by it. Starling succeeds in this telling (though in one book sequel she ultimately succumbed). Most characters of color are domestics, with the exception of Clarice's rather underwritten best friend, her female roommate.

Violence: Usually the worst stuff is offscreen -- but it's just barely offscreen. A woman is beaten unconscious, then kept prisoner in a pit. Characters are shot at close range, two policemen are savagely assaulted, one bitten in the face. A blood-drenched Hannibal Lecter seen exultant after the act of murder. Mutilated corpses and human skins are shown.

Sex: A full-frontal nude scene (sort of) for the gender-confused psycho killer Buffalo Bill. A brief (hardly titillating) look at one of his victims, nude and bloated on an autopsy table. A madman masturbates and throws his bodily fluids at Clarice Starling (it happens quickly and goes without much dialogue explanation). Brief references to kinky sex and sexual acts, sometimes in a criminal-investigative context, sometimes in terms of men hitting on the Jodie Foster's character.

Language: Curse words, usually from frothing lunatics or victims under duress. Other characters (like Hannibal or Clarice) swear only when quoting lines.

Consumerism: Not applicable.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some social drinking.

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What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about the heroine Clarise Starling, whose plight is actually the core of the film's drama and humanity (Hannibal Lecter just steals every scene and subplot he's in). She's an ambitious but vulnerable orphan, a young woman trying to persevere in an often- grisly career fighting the worst kind of crime, in an environment dominated by men -- even the "normal" ones are pretty creepy. Why do you think Clarice fascinates Lecter so much? Does the movie glamorize violence and glorify a villain?

What's the story?

(Jodie Foster) plays Clarice Starling, a young, idealistic FBI trainee sent in to consult on a case with Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant but diabolical therapist who's been caged for eight years. Clarice's quarry is a mystery slayer tagged with the nickname "Buffalo Bill," because the victims -- all plus-sized women -- turn up partially skinned. Lecter won't cooperate with the veteran FBI agents on using his Sherlock Holmes-like powers (and some insider info) on figuring out Buffalo Bill's whereabouts. But Clarice appeals to the deadly doctor, who feeds the young woman vital clues in trade for personal details about the wounds in her own past.

Is it any good?

Anthony Hopkins plays Lecter with magisterial authority and aplomb, resulting in a box-office smash that won the Best Picture Oscar and made Hannibal Lecter a much-imitated screen icon. Apart from the visceral suspense and grisly police antics, this film's strength is its girl power; a very sympathetic heroine interacts with the serpentine Lecter and then goes out to fight another human monster, in environments heavy with male-oriented threat and authority (indeed, you can say that the horrendous Lecter treats Clarice with more courtesy and respect than the so-called "normal" men around her). Silence of the Lambs thus has a complicated sense of virtue and evil coming to bargain with each other.

While the unfortunate consequence glorified a villain in the public mind, the narrative does indeed possess a moral center. Too bad you have to go through the autopsy scenes to reach it.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details

Studio: MGM/UA
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn
Genre: Horror
Run time: 118 minutes
Theatrical release: February 13, 1991
DVD release: August 24, 2004
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: restricted

This review was written by Charles Cassady Jr.

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What parents & educators say

Based on 15 parent & educator reviews:

33% say sexual content is an issue
27% say violence is an issue

Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

southparkfan14
adult

must see:)

awesome movie!

Movie Details

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Genre

The Silence of the Lambs (R, 1991)

common sense media says

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

More on The Silence of the Lambs

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

What's the story?

What's the story?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Movie themes & details

Movie Details

Review It

Review The Silence of the Lambs

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

must see:)

Not Scary

Great movie know one under the age of 13 should see it

good movie

Watch It!

awsome

Not worth seeing if you were given one R-rated movie to watch, but still good, especially the climax.

The greatest villain of all time?

Silence of the Lambs

It is okay

I'm So In Love With This Movie!!

Serial killers don't have to be stupid.

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING

e.g. Perfect for older kids, but not for tweens

scary as hell

holy crap!

Good, just not great

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