Teaching idea for "Silence of the Lambs" clip

The Silence of the Lambs is one of my favorite movies. I've seen it probably a dozen times, and it never gets old--I seem to notice different things each time I watch it. It goes without saying that it's not exactly a school-appropriate movie, but parts of it are masterful for their camera shots, usually notable for what they don't show. I chose this short clip (starting at 7:34- ending at 8:31) because it would be interesting for students to analyze how suspense is created through the various camera shots.

Here is a link to the clip I used (again, only 7:34-8:31). I'm not cool enough to know how to put it directly on the blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUjnbbc0iIM&feature=related

In the first few seconds, as Dr. Chilton is talking, tell students to "watch the pen" and write down what happens with it.

• At first, Chilton continually fidgets with the pen as he's taunting Hannibal Lector about being lied to about a possible prison transfer.
• As soon as the assistant leaves the room and Chilton stands up, the camera turns to show the pen lying there.
• Chilton keeps talking in the background--we don't even see him--but the camera continues to zoom in on the pen. This shows us what Lector is really paying attention to.
• Shots alternate between Lector's face and the pen. Ask students what this might mean or what they think will happen later.

A high-angle shot is then used to show Lector and Chilton. Have students analyze why they think the high-angle shot was used here and what it tells us. I think it serves the purpose of showing how alone they are and how vulnerable Lector is. Chilton moves around Lector and gets in his face, whereas Lector is strapped down and unable to move.

Then the camera cuts to a close-up shot of Lector in profile with Chilton standing to his side. Have students discuss this shot as well. Why aren't they shown side-by-side or with Chilton standing in front?

General Thoughts for Discussion
Discuss with students that the genius of this scene is in its subtlety. Without Hannibal using dialogue, facial expressions, or gestures, we can tell he plans to somehow get the pen and use it for...something bad. Hannibal is a different kind of bad guy. He isn't a raving lunatic; indeed, his stoic behavior is what makes him most frightening. This scene cleverly uses understated camera zooms to show us a glimpse into Lector's mind.

There are at least 2 more scenes that I think are just genius for what they don't show. One is where someone describes to Clarice what Lector did to a nurse. He shows her a photo, but we don't see it. He just says that doctors were able to reconstruct the nurse's jaw and save one of her eyes. We don't need to see the picture to get an image of what happened.

The other scene is in a dramatic one in an elevator. The camera shows a body falling down from the elevator ceiling after being shot by police, thinking it was Lector. The body comes down, but we don't see his face, just the shocked expressions of the policemen. Cut to a shot of a man lying in an ambulance. Immediately we know that Lector is the one in the ambulance, thereby having escaped from the police. (OK, maybe the first time I saw it, I didn't realize it wasn't Lector who was killed. I'm gullible like that. I do remember being amazed at the camerawork in this scene, which is saying something, because I'm usually incredibly dense when it comes to the finer points of film).

So even though The Silence of the Lambs isn't exactly school-appropriate, some of its scenes can be carefully chosen and analyzed by students. Love this film!