How Does The Silence Of The Lambs Work Effectively As an Example Of A Film Opening?

The opening of The Silence of the Lambs contains lots of enigma codes (the questions we ask about the film narrative) which are then revealed by the action codes (the answers to our questions)

One of the first enigma codes is: Why is the girl running? This is then answered by when we see the ropes and her track-suit. We can see that she is sweating and training on an assault course. She is training on her own which suggests she is determined. This tells us what kind of character she is.

Another enigma code is: Who is the girl running? This is answered by when the man in the FBI hat calls out her last name; Starling. We then go on to learn that her first name is Clarice,when she is "high fived" by the girl.The man with the FBI hat tells us that she is a member of the FBI. Also that she is most likely to be of a low status. We can learn this by the way she wants to be seen by Crawford. Or when she is in the the lift with the men in suits, and is seen as vulnerable. This shows that she is a bit of an outsider from the rest of the FBI members.

One characterization technique is when she is singled out by Crawford to do an important job. This tells the audience that she is quite intelligent and well trusted. When Crawford reads out her qualifications, this is another point when the audience learns she is intelligent.

An enigma code in the sequence is: Who is Hannibal Lecter? We soon learn that he is in fact a serial killer. This is an effective way of gripping the audience to the story, because they want to know what happens next.

We also learn about Clarice, that she is popular and liked by people. We know this because she "high fives" the girl in the corridor.

We can tell that she is quite a curious character, by the way she looks around the office and asks questions.

One other thing we learn about her character, is that she is a very passionate person. This is because of the extra training she puts herself through. And even when she puts herself in danger, she is still determined to do the job.

Two other enigma codes are: Who is Buffalo Bill and, What is his link to Hannibal Lecter? This keeps the audience hooked, until later on in the film when these two enigma codes are revealed.

Like the Layer Cake analysis, this clip analysis also helped me to understand how action and enigma codes are used in film.