The Silence of the Lambs

Starling!

Starling.

Crawford wants to see you in his office.

Thank you, sir.

- -

- Clarice. - Hey.

Hey, I got right to the end.

So there shouldn't be any problem if you could -

- You looking for Crawford? - Yes, sir.

He should be back in a couple minutes. Why don't you wait in his office.

Okay.

Then I think they were over into Flushing.

Starling. Clarice M.

- Good morning. - Good morning, Mr. Crawford.

Sorry to pull you off the course on such short notice.

Your instructors tell me you're doing well. Top quarter of your class.

I hope so. They haven't posted any grades yet.

A job's come up, and I thought about you.

Not a job really. More of an interesting errand.

- Sit down. - Yes, sir.

- I remember you from my seminar at UVA. - Yeah.

You grilled me pretty hard, as I recall,

on the Bureau's civil rights record in the Hoover years.

- I gave you an "A." - A-minus, sir.

Let's see. Double major - psych and criminology.

Graduated magna. Summer internships at the Reitzinger Clinic.

It says here, when you graduate,

you wanna come to work for me in behavioral science.

Yes. Very much, sir. Very much.

We're interviewing all the serial killers now in custody

for a psycho-behavioral profile.

Could be a real help in unsolved cases.

Most of them have been happy to talk to us.

You spook easily, Starling?

Not yet, sir.

See, the one we want most refuses to cooperate.

I want you to go after him again today in the asylum.

Who's the subject?

The psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter.

"Hannibal the Cannibal."

I don't expect him to talk to you...

but I have to be able to say we tried.

So, if he won't cooperate, I want just straight reporting -

how's he look, how's his cell look.

Is he sketching, drawing? If he is, what's he sketching?

Here's a, uh, dossier on Lecter...

copy of our questionnaire, and a special ID for you.

Have your memo on my desk by 0800 Wednesday.

Okay.

Um, excuse me, sir, but why the urgency?

Lecter's been in prison for so many years now.

Is there some connection between him and Buffalo Bill maybe?

I wish there were.

I want your full attention, Starling.

Yes, sir.

Be very careful with Hannibal Lecter.

Dr. Chilton at the asylum will go over all the physical procedures used with him.

Do not deviate from them for any reason whatsoever.

And you're to tell him nothing personal, Starling.

Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.

Just do your job, but never forget what he is.

And what is that?

Oh, he's a monster.

Pure psychopath.

So rare to capture one alive.

From a research point of view, Lecter is our most prized asset.

Well.

You know, we get a lot of detectives here, but, I must say,

I can't ever remember one as attractive.

Will you be in Baltimore overnight?

Because this can be quite a fun town if you have the right guide.

I'm sure this is a great town, Dr. Chilton,

but, um, my instructions are to talk to Dr. Lecter and report back this afternoon.

I see. Well, let's make this quick then.

We've tried to study him, of course,

but he's much too sophisticated for the standard tests.

And, oh, my, does he hate us.

He thinks I'm his nemesis.

Crawford's very clever, isn't he, using you?

- What do you mean, sir? - Pretty, young woman to turn him on.

I don't believe Lecter's even seen a woman in eight years.

And, oh, are you ever his taste, so to speak.

I graduated from UVA, Doctor. It is not a charm school.

Good. Then you should be able to remember the rules.

Do not touch the glass. Do not approach the glass.

You pass him nothing but soft paper. No pencils or pens.

No staples or paper clips in his paper.

Use the sliding food carrier. No exceptions.

If he attempts to pass you anything, do not accept it.

- Do you understand me? - Yes, I understand, sir.

I'm going to show you why we insist on such precautions.

On the afternoon of July 8, 1981,

he complained of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary.

His mouthpiece and restraints were removed for an EKG.

When the nurse leaned over him, he did this to her.

The doctors managed to reset her jaw, more or less, save one of her eyes.

His pulse never got above 85,

even when he ate her tongue.

- I keep him in here. - Dr. Chilton.

Um, if Lecter feels that you're his enemy,

then, um, well, maybe we'll have more luck if I go in by myself.

What do you think?

You might have suggested this in my office and saved me the time.

Yes, sir, but then I - I would have missed the pleasure of your company, sir.

When she's finished, bring her out.

- -

Hi. I'm Barney.

He told you don't get near the glass?

- Yes, he did. Clarice Starling. - Mm-hmm.

Nice to meet you, Clarice. You can hang your coat up here if you like.

Oh, thank you. I will.

He's past the others - the last cell.

You keep to the right.

- I put out a chair for you. - Oh, yes. That's very good. Thank you.

I'll be watching. You'll do fine.

Hi.

I can smell your cunt!

- Good morning. - Dr. Lecter, my name is Clarice Starling.

May I speak with you?

You're one of Jack Crawford's, aren't you?

I am, yes.

May I see your credentials?

Certainly.

Closer, please.

Closer.

That expires in one week. You're not real FBI, are you?

I'm still in training at the academy.

Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me?

Yes. I'm a student. I'm here to learn from you.

Maybe you can decide for yourself whether or not I'm qualified enough to do that.

Mmm.

That is rather slippery of you, Agent Starling.

Sit. Please.

Now then, tell me, what did Miggs say to you?

Multiple Miggs in the next cell.

He hissed at you. What did he say?

He said, "I can smell your cunt."

I see.

I myself cannot.

You use Evyan skin cream.

And sometimes you wear L'Air du Temps.

But not today.

Did you do all these drawings, Doctor?

Ah.

That is the Duomo seen from the Belvedere.

Do you know Florence?

All that detail just from memory, sir?

Memory, Agent Starling, is what I have instead of a view.

Well, perhaps you'd care to lend us your view on this questionnaire, sir.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

You were doing fine.

You had been courteous and receptive to courtesy.

You had established trust with the... embarrassing truth about Miggs.

And now this... ham-handed segue into your questionnaire.

It won't do.

I'm only asking you to look at this, Doctor.

Either you will or you won't.

Yeah. Jack Crawford must be very busy indeed

if he is recruiting help from the student body.

Busy hunting that new one, Buffalo Bill.

What a naughty boy he is.

Do you know why he's called "Buffalo Bill"?

Please tell me. The newspapers won't say.

Well, it started as a bad joke in Kansas City Homicide.

They said, "This one likes to skin his humps."

Why do you think he removes their skins,

Agent Starling?

Thrill me with your acumen.

It excites him.

Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims.

- I didn't. - No.

No, you ate yours.

You send that through now.

Hmm.

Oh, Agent Starling.

You think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?

No. I - I thought that your knowledge -

You're so ambitious, aren't you?

You know what you look like to me with your good bag and your cheap shoes?

You look like a rube -

a well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste.

Good nutrition's given you some length of bone,

but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash,

are you, Agent Starling?

And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia.

What does your father do? Is he a coal miner?

Does he stink of the lamp?

And, oh, how quickly the boys found you -

all those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars

while you could only dream of getting out, getting anywhere,

getting all the way to the FBI.

You see a lot, Doctor.

But are you strong enough to point

that high-powered perception at yourself?

What about it? Why don't you - Why don't you look at yourself

and write down what you see?