Silence of the Lambs conversation analysis

 First meeting

Analysing conversations

Who is the most dominant?
Who thinks they have 'won' the conversation?
When does the power shift happen?
Who spends longer on screen?
Do these composition changes match with the power shift?
Who fills the frame?

Although not shown in the clip attached, as Starling enters the basement she encounters three prisoners, each more deranged than the other. They clamber on the bars and try to reach for Starling. However, as she approaches Hannibal Lecter the first thing the audience sees is the man standing still and composed, appearing "normal" yet even more terrifying because of his stiff posture and penetrating stare. This starking contrast with the rest of the inmates create a powerful first impression of Lecter for their first meeting, which is useful for later power dynamics. The audience is put in the POV of Starling as she walks up to the cell, making them empathise with how she feels at this very moment, which is intimidation and fear.

As Lecter asks to see Starling's credentials and sings "closer", the shot-reverse-shot detours from being over-the-shoulder and shifts into POV, making their exchange more dangerously intimate as the physical distance between them close. He is also shown walking up to the camera, meaning that he is asserting himself into the close up, showing power in the conversation. As Lecter is staring into Starling's eyes, he looks straight into the camera, once again putting the audience in Starling's POV. 

The medium shot also changes into shot-counter-shot close-ups, allowing the audience to digest Lecter's intense stare, increasing the tension in this scene. Hannibal Lecter is more dominant here as a lot of the shot type changes occur when Lecter appears on screen. This means that he has the latter in which direction the conversation goes and therefore more dominant in this relationship.

Lecter says "Sit, please". Although this line is well-mannered and worded like an invitation, it is actually a command from Lecter, as the camera follows Starling sitting down from a high angle. This makes her smaller, further emphasised by the large shape of Lecter's back engulfing a large portion of the composition.

Now, while Starling's side of the conversation is shot in medium-shot, Lecter remains in close-up, occupying more space than Starling. For obvious reasons, Starling was made uncomfortable by Lecter smelling her. In her reaction shot, she pushed to the right side of the composition, cornered by Lecter's remarks. He however, still remains in the middle of the composition with no headspace in close-up shots. During this part of the clip, the shots of Lecter sniffing is painfully long, further emphasising the awkwardness Starling is feeling. The camera also tracks Lecter to put more attention on what he is doing. This demonstrates the stark power difference between the two and how Lecter has more power.