Jonathan Demme's 1991 adaptation of Thomas Harris' psychological horror novel, The Silence of The Lambs is praised as one of the best films in cinema history, escaping the confines of its genre and landing well within the mainstream. Along with screenwriter Ted Tally, Demme brought Harris's bone-chilling book to the screen with equally scary success.
Both the novel and film follow Clarice Starling, an ambitious FBI trainee who is recruited to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, an incarcerated cannibal and former psychiatrist, in order to gain his insight on an active serial killer. Despite its gruesome narrative, The Silence of the Lambs went on to win five Academy Awards, earning Best Picture as well as Best Director (Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay (Tally), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins) and Best Actress (Jodie Foster). It was only the third film in history to receive all five awards and in doing so secured itself as a classic for critics and horror fans alike.
Guided by Lecter and his cryptic clues, Clarice becomes entangled in the hunt for a serial killer dubbed Buffalo Bill due to his habit of skinning his victims. When Catherine Martin, the daughter of well-known Senator, is abducted by the killer the case becomes more high profile and Clarice's hunt for Buffalo Bill turns into a race against the clock. As Clarice continues to tracks down Buffalo Bill, Lecter manages to escapes custody during a prison transfer. After hitting a breakthrough in the case Clarice locates Jame Gumm, identifying him as Buffalo Bill and killing him before rescuing Catherine. Her work on the case is highly commended and Clarice graduates from the FBI academy shortly after, though the celebration is interrupted by a call from Lecter. Now free and on the run, Hannibal is calling from an airport in the Bahamas where he watches Dr. Chilton, his enemy and former incarcerator, slip into the crowd.
The Real Meaning of Silence of the Lambs' Ending
After executing his meticulous and gory escape plan, Lecter is free once again and has no intention of changing his murderous ways. The next time Clarice hears from him he is calling from the Bahamas where he has managed to track down a doomed Dr. Chilton. With her FBI Academy graduation party in the background, Clarice listens as Lecter assures her he has no plans to pursue her and asks the same courtesy be extended to him, an example of the politeness Hannibal so proudly prioritizes.
When Clarice answers the call Hannibal greets her with his infamous, "Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?", referencing a story she shared with him in an effort to get his help finding Buffalo Bill. As Clarice works the case with Lecter's help, he persuades her into a "quid pro quo", encouraging her to reveal personal information about her past in exchange for clues. During one of their talks, Clarice recounts a traumatic childhood incident in which she was woken by the sound of lambs screaming during the spring slaughter at a relative's farm, where she was brought to live following the death of her father. Clarice tells him that she can still hear the screaming in her dreams, and Lecter ties it to her determination in finding Catherine, a helpless victim up for slaughter.
How Silence of the Lambs' Book Ending Is Different
In Jonathan Demme's film, Clarice receives a final phone call from Hannibal, but in the novel he writes to her, penning his hope that "the lambs have stopped screaming". In the book, his soft spot for Clarice is heightened by Lecter encouraging her career in the FBI, telling her that the screams will come and go, fueling Clarice's drive to save those in need. Lecter goes on to describe his view of the stars, avoiding information that might reveal his whereabouts but ending his letter by telling Clarice, "some of our stars are the same".
While the last shot of the movie shows Lecter hanging up the phone and following Chilton, the book ends with a moment of peace for Clarice. After reading Dr. Lecter's letter Clarice "sleeps deeply, sweetly, in the silence of the lambs". After all Clarice has been through, the image offers some calming closure that viewers may not feel from the film, which chooses to let Lecter's question of whether or not the lambs "have stopped screaming" go unanswered.
Silence of the Lambs' Alternate Ending Explained
In the iconic film ending, Lecter hints at his sinister plans for Chilton, but screenwriter Ted Tally's first draft of the script actually showed the doctor in Hannibal's clutches. Tally describes the alternate ending in which Lecter has stalked Chilton to a remote vacation home where he proceeds to overpower security officers guarding the house and claim his victim. The final scene would have shown Hannibal calling Clarice from Chilton's home while cutting an orange with a paring knife, which he then holds up to a terrified Chilton asking, "Shall we begin?" When showed the ending, director Jonathan Demme thought it was too gruesome a note to end the film on and had Tally rewrite the scene. Tally did so and placed Lecter in the Bahamas, stalking Chilton but leaving his likely brutal fate unseen. Instead, Lecter alludes to his plans by telling Clarice that he is "having an old friend for dinner", which adds an additionally chilling note to The Silence of the Lambs' ending.