Silence of the Lambs - Analysis

Analysis of thriller opening - Silence of the Lambs

     

     The opening scene of 'The Silence of the Lambs' uses a long shot to establish the setting  of a desolated, foggy forest with dark trees covering the entire shot suggesting that it is set during the early morning. The opening engages the audience as we assume the woman will play the role of a victim, who through use of tracking from behind, is made out to be running away from someone. This immediately reels in the audience as it starts to build an enigma as to who she is being chased by and why. Without any other indication than the woman running through the woods, the audience assumes that she is being chased. This is due to the fact that in thrillers, it is usually women who are presented as the victim. The opening introduces a tense mood as it makes the audience curious. The woods is a typical place for a woman to be attacked as it is isolated and dark. This sets the scene for something intense about to happen, which is what the audience would be expecting. The narrative would be expected to be of a woman who may have been attacked, (and the steps she takes in identifying her attacker). The opening titles are displayed in a large black and white font in the centre of the screen, and they are all male names, which again is not unusual for a thriller.

    As the actress starts running forwards, it suggests that she isn't going to make it to the end of the film as she may be one of the disposable characters. As the character gets closer you see that she is struggling to pull herself up using a rope which suggests that she's running away from someone or something. This shot is taken from a high angle shot which could imply that someone is watching her. Diegetic sounds of her heavily breathing from running create a tense mood as heavy breathing can represent being frightened and out of breath. It could also mean that she doesn't have the energy to keep running which if she is being chased would be intense.

     As the camera tracks backwards, we get a closer look of the character introduced. A young woman wearing baggy clothing which will make the audience create an image in their head straight away about her low status. She then gets closer to the camera which develops into a mid shot. She starts to look around worried, which could mean that she is looking out for someone and getting away. At this point, the audience can see the 'FBI academy' that is written on her jumper which is not in full sight and obvious but could hint at the character's job and the reason why she is running and putting in so much effort. She is most likely to be training. 

     By showing an assault course, this use of mise-en-scene automatically tells us that in fact, our suspicions were wrong and the woman is not a victim. This is where we are made aware that she is the main actress in the film. Without anything being said, just seeing a deliberate prop, the narrative becomes a bit clearer as it would now appear the woman is training for something, not being chased. It is only later when she is approached by a man who calls out her surname 'Sterling' and who turns around revealing that the cap he wears bears the initials FBI, that we understand she is training for the FBI; we then see her as an equal to the other male members of the academy. The deliberate use of mise-en-scene is what makes it evident what her reasons are for being there. This confirms that we are probably watching a crime thriller.

     The non-diegetic sound of orchestral music in the background causes suspense and implies something bad is going to happen. There are diegetic sounds of helicopters, gunshots, heavy breathing while Starling is running and birds which creates a sense of a large, empty open space. When the assault course is shown, the music remains the same, which makes it vague and doesn't give too much away to the audience about what is going to happen next. The main elements of special effects and editing in the beginning are the titles. It is shown in a simple format that stands out as it is places above the moving image. The continuity editing is efficient and shows her easy progression through the course.

     The camera pans and tracks her as she moves through the building towards the office where she was told to go. The viewers carry on learning about the character before she speaks. Her clothing tells us that she is not a typical girl as she is tough and a protagonist by the way she walks with confidence and through the respect she is given by her boss. 

We see her walk into Crawford's office and look around while the camera tracks around her to encourage the audience to sympathise with her.  

We see what she sees from a point of view shot. We are shown newspaper articles of a murder, files and images on the wall of dead people with their skin ripped off. We see Crawford enter the office as the camera pans around Sterling to show him take a seat from behind her shoulder. The tone in which her boss talks to her shows that she is well respected and trusted to be given such a huge responsibility. Shot/reverse shots, point of view shots and over the shoulder shots are techniques used throughout the conversation to show that, despite the fact that he is her superior, the editing brings them together as mutually valued colleagues.

     Finally, the scene where the woman is in the lift shows she is in a male dominated environment which is stereotypical for the job of an FBI agent. There are a couple of women in the scene but they are severely outnumbered. Also the Jodie Foster is conspicuously small in comparison to all the tall and intimidating men. However, she is clearly not intimidated when she emerges from the lift it is clear that all the other men have disappeared having exited the lift on lower floors. In addition all the men are in red t-shirts whilst she is wearing a grey jumper which is dull and makes her look insignificant. This emphasises the fact that in thrillers, males are the dominant, strong, and heroic characters and that the females play a passive role and are predominately the victims in need of help.