The Silence of the Lambs and Why I find Hannibal funny
I watched The Silence of the Lambs twice in a row last night. I love that movie. It was about 4 in the morning and I was fine. My mother and several people I know cannot watch that movie at all, let alone by themselves in the middle of the night. I, however, think this movie is just a wonderful piece of entertainment to be enjoyed at any time of day. I think Hannibal Lecter is funny. (Some spoilers follow.)
I think Hannibal Lecter is absolutely, however subtly, comical. He is a brilliant character, and it is noted time and time again that he is leagues above his peers in terms of intelligence. Well written and directed, one of the things that makes Hannibal such an eerie character in the movie (aside from his taste for human flesh and complete propensity for violence) is that he does not blink. Watch the movie. Look closely. No blinking.
It first dawned on me that I think Hannibal is the scene in which Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) walks to Hannibal’s cell for the first time and is hissed at by the inmates on the way. Hannibal then asks Clarice what Miggs (Stuart Rudin) said to her.
“What did Miggs say to you? Multiple Miggs in the next cell? He hissed something at you.”
“He said, ‘I can smell your c***.’”
“Ah. I see. I, myself, cannot.”
Hannibal is having a jaunty old time manipulating everyone around him. The way he speaks is not meant to horrify but rather provocative and trivial, simply for his own amusement. This is again very prevalent when he is speaking to Senator Ruth Martin (Diane Baker) about her missing daughter, Catherine (Brooke Smith), who has been abducted by serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). Hannibal says nothing remotely related to Buffalo Bill at first. Instead, he asks her if she breastfed her daughter.
“Tell me, Senator, did you nurse Catherine yourself?”
“What?”
“Did you breastfeed her?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Toughened your nipples, didn’t it? … Amputate a man’s leg and he can still feel it tickling. Tell me, mum, when your little girl is on the slab, where will it tickle you?”
He has a slight smirk on his face during this exchange. What in the hell do nipples have to do with a missing woman? Nothing at all. Hannibal is simply amusing himself. He is psychologically piercing manipulative as his psychiatrist insists, though it is much more for a good chuckle than the destruction of those around him. He is a man in solitary confinement, denied any form of entertainment and harassed by his psychiatrist on a daily basis. What other methods of entertainment does he have available, other than those that exist in his mind? He is a trained psychiatrist and a highly intelligent man. He understands fully how to push buttons and he relishes in his little moments. Why not let him have his small joys?
I do wonder if Hannibal would have gone to such lengths to excape and make an impact were he placated by getting Dr. Chilton to back off and allowed such stimulation as literature. Once Hannibal does make his escape, he rigs a highly elaborate scene with the body of one of the guards he killed, obviously having a private laugh at the inevitable reaction upon discovery. In addition, the manner in which the body of the guard resembles a death’s head moth, which is a crucial clue to the discovery of the true identity of Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb. Hannibal, while present, cannot see the reactions. He must have known the shock that his display would have caused.
Hannibal is a man playing with people around him as though they are toys. He needs amusement and finds the most effective way to draw that out of people. A man confined completely to a cell needs playthings and all that are available are the people that interact briefly with him. Hannibal seeks to shock, not purely for horror, but to give himself a little laugh in an otherwise monotonous day. Along the way, he’s made me laugh as well. I love The Silence of the Lambs, and my most recent views have added an entirely new layer of enjoyment for me.
