The Silence of the Lambs - Who Wins the Scene?

Hi, my name is Tony and this is a quick episode of Every Frame a Painting. <i>--Dr Lecter my name is Clarice Starling May I speak with you? </i> Today’s topic is winning the scene.

In drama, two characters walk into a room. Each wants something from the other. <i> --May I see your credentials?

</i> The question of the scene is: who gets what they want? <i>--Closer. </i> First you’ll notice they both look right into the lens, examining each other.

Even though Lecters in jail this framing shows him and Clarice as equals But, once he lands the first blow: <i>--That expires in one week. You’re not real FBI, are you? </i> We move over-the-shoulder, with each person building up a defense.

And who has the power here? <i>--Sit, please. </i> He does.

>From here on out, we’re always looking slightly down on her, slightly up on him <i>--Now then, tell me, what did Miggs say to you? </i> While he looks us right in the eye, she looks off camera. Right now we're inside her head.

Jonathan Demme will reinforce this by having the camera look where Clarice is looking only to bring us back to Lecter. <i> --You know Florence? </i> Remember shes here to get him to look at a survey.

Every time she's too obvious <i>--I’m only asking you to look at this. Either you will or you won’t. </i> We go back to this standoffish angle.

But Hannibal Lecter is curious about one thing…<i> --You know why he’s called Buffalo Bill? </i> So we shift. Now she looks us in the eye, he looks off.

We’ve moved inside his point of view because he’s genuinely interested. And the relationship is starting to thaw You can actually tell the exact moment it happens. <i>--Most serial killers keep some trophy.

--I didn’t. </i> <i>--No, no you ate yours. </i> We think Clarice is winning.

She’s gotten him to look at the survey, and we get a close-up emphasizing its importance. But then Lecter decides to turn the tables. <i>--You know what you look like to me with your good bag and your cheap shoes</i> <i>you look like a rube.

</i> This is the first time the camera dollies during the entire scene, and it ends by framing Lecter normally, while Clarice is short-sided off-balance Just when she thought she was winning… she lost. If you’re paying attention you’ll notice that Lecter is no longer looking directly into the lens, but ever so slightly off. Because they’re not seeing eye to eye anymore.

<i>--You fly back to school little Starling</i> He walks away from the camera, mirrored in the next shot when she does the same. After Miggs does his thing, we get the second camera move and the very first two-shot in the entire scene. Finally, they’re together in the same frame, the camera looking up, and we understand that this is the beginning of a relationship.

<i>--I don't think Miggs can manage again so soon, even though he's crazy, GO NOW. </i> What makes the dynamic interesting is Hannibal Lecter wins the scene and then gives up his win for his own reasons. Clarice gets what she wanted but it feels like a humiliation.

If you enjoyed this little exercise, I highly recommend watching other interactions between these two characters, each of which has a slightly different answer to the question of “Who wins the scene? " My name is Tony and this was a quick episode of Every Frame a Painting. Subtitles by the Amara.