The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Silence of the Lambs

written by Ted Tally


The Silence of the Lambs, like Jurassic Park, is an example of a commercially successful movie that is structurally flawed. In Jurassic Park, the wonder of the theme park and the movie's special effects carry the film. Here the unforgettable and grotesque "evil" of the antagonist, "Hannibal the cannibal," carries much of the movie - but it also points out what can happen to a story when the antagonist becomes more interesting than the protagonist.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (1 min.)
    • A woman appears to be in danger. She is frantically climbing a rope, then running. Who is chasing her? When she reaches an obstacle, however, we begin to understand that she is on some kind of an obstacle course. This is Clarice Starling, our protagonist, a student at the FBI Academy.
  2. Complication (2 min.)
    • She is interrupted on the course: "Crawford wants to see you in his office." This is a big shot, the head of behavioral sciences. What did Starling do?
  3. Call to Action (7 min., 19 min.)
    • Starling is assigned to interview "Hannibal the cannibal," a notorious serial killer who is locked up. After great tension as she goes to prison to meet him, she is given a clue about a current serial killer, Buffalo Bill, who skins his victims (19 min.).
  4. Act One Plot Point (27-31 min.)
    • But Hannibal is playing with her - the clue leads her to uncover the decapitated head of a transvestite. But Hannibal offers her a deal: to help her find Buffalo Bill in exchange for transfer to more comfortable prison surroundings. Hannibal is getting "into her head."
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (50-67 min.)
    • Buffalo Bill kidnaps the daughter of a senator, bringing greater visibility to efforts to capture him. Starling offers Hannibal a deal - but it's a ploy set up by her superiors. She is, in fact, being used by Crawford, and she everywhere feels the tension of being a woman in a man's world. But after Hannibal, wise to the ploy, refuses to cooperate, he again offers Starling help and a fresh start on the case.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (85 min., 98 min.)
    • Hannibal gets away (85 min.). Is Starling in danger? She thinks not; he likes her. Meanwhile the FBI is closing in on Buffalo Bill without Starling, but they are on a false lead. It is Starling who stumbles upon the serial killer, after following clues provided by Hannibal.
  7. Climax and Resolution (110 min.)
    • She has a showdown with Buffalo Bill and wins. Starling graduates - and gets a phone call from Hannibal, still on the loose, planning to have "an old friend for dinner," his prison psychiatrist.

    Notes

    The Silence of the Lambs struggles in its focus between being the story of Starling and the story of Hannibal. Hannibal is a far more interesting character, so much so that we loose sight of the protagonist for an unusually long period of time midway through the movie. As a result, the story suffers because the protagonist suffers - the scale is tipped too much, and we lose focus on the very person who should be at the center of the story. This story is based on a novel, and such adaptations often face challenges of focus.

    At the same time, the film was highly successful in commercial terms, which shows that flawed stories can still be box-office hits if they have something about them that appeals to viewers. And in this case, it's the antagonist, and the brilliant performance by Anthony Hopkins, that carries the film. But the story would be even stronger if the protagonist were not shoved to the back seat for long stretches of the mid-action, and if many of her conflicts came into sharper focus.


    MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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