When The Silence Of The Lambs was released in 1991, it was somewhat unprecedented. The adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel of the same name delivered a mold-breaking female hero, within the context of a story about violence against women, without employing any of the standard clichés associated with movies of that genre. As such, it remains a bench-mark project in terms of filmmaking. The movie – directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally – takes known, predictable issues surrounding sexism in film and in society as a whole, and turns them into specific strengths in this narrative.

Let’s look at the plot first. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is training to become an F.B.I agent, and is pulled from her schedule by Agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) of the Behavioural Science U...

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