This review has been a long time coming. The news of a Silence of the Lambs sequel series has been circulating for what seems like forever. I believe I heard about it around the same time NBC’s Hannibal ended. The very existence of this CBS series is to the dismay of most Hannibal fans (the NBC show was trending on Twitter during the Clarice premiere). I was hoping that series would adapt Silence if it ever returned. The problem is that the rights to the characters of Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter somehow reside with different companies. They might have been able to do the storyline with Will Graham instead, but it wouldn’t have been the same.
Not only does The Silence of the Lambs remain deeply ingrained in pop culture, but it’s also a prestigious film; it’s only one of three movies to win the Big Five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Actor) and the only horror film to win Best Picture (I personally consider it a psychological thriller). In addition, Clarice Starling ranks #6 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest heroes, whereas Hannibal Lecter ranks #1 on the list of greatest villains (above Norman Bates at #2 and Darth Vader at #3).
Despite all that, The Silence of the Lambs continues to grow more controversial because of its main antagonist, Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill is a serial killer who skins his victims so he can construct a woman suit. Though the movie and book make the case that Buffalo Bill only believes he is transgender and is too psychologically disturbed to be eligible for surgery, it’s obvious to see why people would say the character has had a negative impact on the trans community. This doesn’t even get into the victimization of women, the portrayal of the mentally ill as violent, and the depiction of people with issues like Buffalo Bill’s as irredeemably evil.
It might seem excessive to spend this much time talking about the movie Clarice is based on, but the show is steeped in Buffalo Bill imagery, from moths to Buffalo Bill himself. Clarice wants you to view it as the true successor to Silence, erasing the 2001 sequel film from your memory. The creators went as far as setting the show in 1993, instead of updating it for the present day. Rebecca Breeds’ (The Originals) casting as Clarice is meant to harken back to Jodie Foster, and it succeeds in that respect. Though Julianne Moore’s Clarice was at a later stage of her FBI career, Breeds’ still fits closer to Jodie Foster in voice and appearance. She’s not as good as Jodie Foster, sure, but Foster is a two-time Oscar winner. Those are big shoes to fill.
Clarice is an icon among fictional female characters, but as a female in a predominately male profession, she faces resistance from her male colleagues. Becoming famous straight out of the academy also painted a target on her back. This is a big portion of the premiere. This plotline doesn’t speak to me personally, but I’m also aware that I don’t have to deal with this kind of hostility as a male, so it might interest female viewers more. Starling also receives an absurd amount of pressure from the press. It makes it look like the FBI just caves to the will of the media and doesn’t really care about justice.
Typically, when a review premieres, I don’t give away many plot points, in case readers want to watch the show. What I will say is if you’re worried Clarice will shy away from the grisly violence Hannibal got away with, don’t be; Clarice is not watered down in the slightest. In fact, it might be even more violent than The Silence of the Lambs itself. It also is more stylish than most CBS shows (though exterior shots aren’t time-lapses like in Hannibal). I do think it’s a little too colorful though. I’m not saying that it needs to be gray, but the style does not match Silence, which had more realistic tones and was shot on film. This looks a little too digital and artificial by comparison.
Whether or not Clarice is going to interest you depends on a few things. If you need Hannibal Lecter in the story, the plot is a non-starter; Clarice can reference him but can’t even say his name. If you view Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller as the rightful adapter of Thomas Harris’ work, again, you won’t be interested. But if Clarice Starling as a character intrigues you, Clarice might be for you, though I recommend you watch The Silence of the Lambs first if you haven’t seen it. I’m on the fence, personally. I don’t have the privilege of watching multiple episodes early like other critics do. But, for now, I might give it a chance and see where it goes.
Clarice Airs Thursday Nights on CBS & Replayed on CBS All Access.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMYs8vwvRQc
