Beauty and the Lamb

This article will explore the academy awards category for Best Picture in the year 1991. Specifically, it will evaluate if Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon and Ron Bozman’s Silence of the Lambs truly deserved to win over Don Hahn’s Beauty and the Beast. I found this year in particular to be interesting because not only is Beauty and the Beast the first animated film to be nominated but only one of three animated films to be nominated ever. This as well as the fact no movie as gruesome as Silence of the Lambs had ever come close to winning made for an interesting combination. And while the two movies are on two completely opposite ends of the spectrum, both utilize many different elements of film into their respective movies that keep you gripped with curiosity and wonder until the very end; whether that be with a monster turned man, or a man turned monster.

Before even starting the conversation of who should’ve won, I feel like it’s important to determine what exactly an academy award winner for best picture should be bringing to the table. Anthony Breznican, a writer for USA Today describes it as “the one you can have the longest conversation about at dinner afterward. The best picture is the one that you could watch again right away as soon as the credits end. The best picture is the one that makes you say “Wow” the loudest.” 

Director Johnathan Demme’s 1991 horror thriller, Silence of the Lambs won the award for the year and I personally have always been a fan of this movie. It is a movie adaptation of Thomas Harris book of the same name about a brilliant cannibalistic serial killer named Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) who aids FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) in solving the pressing case of who they call Buffalo Bill. The story moves through twists and turns of the case all the while Lecter is swiftly escaping his detention centers and Clarice is going through something of her own story. Somehow all these different plot points are melted perfectly together to create an effortless flow throughout the movie. The film is the perfect combination of horror and intelligence that comes to a head at the right time in the right way. Hannibal lecters' genius is captivating and with every scene leaves you itching for the next, even if you don’t quite know what you’re waiting for him to reveal or do. 

Though Anthony Hopkins' performance as Hannibal Lecter is what I think really seals the deal for Silence of the Lambs. During almost every scene in the high retention prisons, Hopkins makes you feel just as nervous as Clarice herself to be standing in front of him. In fact, I think him winning best leading actor for a role with scarce screen time shows how prominent his character was. On top of that, another part I find to be really interesting is when Clarice cuts the lights and Demmes chooses to have one of the most crucial parts of the movie be done in night vision mode.

Then we have the other nominee Beauty and the Beast, which is of course a Disney childhood classic. It is the familiar tale of a village girl named Belle taking place as prisoner for her father to a ‘Beast,’ who is really just a conceeded prince who was spelled hideous, until he decides to let her go. Though spoiler, it doesn’t end there. She falls in love and comes back to save him when the village people try to attack him, then he almost gets killed but she's in love with him so bing bang boom, he’s back to the attractive prince and everyone else is human again as well. I had never seen this movie before, I’m not a big Disney person, and I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to finally do it. I found one of the most impressive parts of this movie to be the integration between songs and plot and how fluid the two felt. The animations were also fantastically done, especially for the time, but the storyline is a little bit predictable. Admittedly that is the case with most Disney movies, but it is hard to ignore the happiness they all provoke when watching and that is probably what makes the movie a household name today. 

Certain scenes like when the beast and Belle are eating breakfast and he is slobbering it down and tries to eat it with a spoon to impress her have any viewer smiling from ear to ear. Songs like “Be my Guest” and “Something There” are among many other catchy songs that push the narrative along rather than making it feel like it’s at a pause. Even the ending scenes when they kiss and blue sparkly strings of magic envelop them to change him and the other characters back to human, seems special and enchanting rather than cheesy and dumb.

Though when you go deep down to the roots of the movies, they are just two stories about trust. In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is more or less just supposed to be working for the beast and waiting for her imprisonment to be over so she can go back to living her normal village life. She is not supposed to be letting the beast in or trusting him in any sense. Yet she does, and even with her new freedom she comes back for him even after what he has done. Clarice on the other end is continuously warned not to trust Hannibal Lecter with any personal information because that is exactly what he thrives on. Still, she begins to share her darkest secrets and most painful memories to him. 

Both of our heroines go against their better judgement and decide to be trusting towards a monster. Which in different ways, works to both of their favors. Belle gets a dashing Prince Charming, becomes a princess, and gives a bunch of innocent people their lives back. Clarice on the other hand gets to live which is a plus, but also has a hand in a cannibal being released back into the world. Though her placing her trust in Lecter did also led to the Buffalo Bill case being solved right before time ran out for the senators daughter, which would not have happened otherwise.

When it comes down to it, I do feel as though Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon and Ron Bozman deserve the crown here for Silence of the Lambs. Even with Beauty and the Beast’s trendsetting nomination and beautiful execution, it really just can not stand up against Anthony Hopkins impeccable performance and the brilliance of the chilling story Demmes brought to life.