It’s time for Everybody Is Wrong again. You lucky, lucky blighters …
For the uninitiated, Everybody Is Wrong is hecklerspray’s weekly feature wherein we take something deemed as fantastic by the mouth-breathing masses and expose it as the big pile of turgid rubbish that it actually is. And, yes – we do think this makes us big and clever.
Last weeks savaging of dull-as-bricks musicians The Arctic Monkeys attracted a great deal of attention, both agreeing with us and… ahem… otherwise. This week, however, we’re casting our minds back a whole fifteen years.
Promotion is already underway for the Feb 20 super-duper ultimate best-ever DVD release of ‘classic’ horror The Silence Of The Lambs. So we thought we’d grab this opportunity to take the movie to task…
In the grand archive library of the over-rated – brimming with unread copies of Vernon God Little and once-time-played Polyphonic Spree albums – Silence Of The Lambs (DVDs) must surely take centre stage. And it must surely be surrounded by onlookers, all gazing on, scratching their heads and asking each other the exact same question:
Why is this pile of poo regarded as a work of genius?
Okay, okay, so it’s become almost standard-form to say that Brian Cox‘s portrayal of Hannibal Lector in Manhunter is far superior to Anthony Hopkins‘ attempt. That really isn’t the issue here. What completely baffles hecklerspray is that no-one has yet to point out how teeth-grindingly awful the Hopster actually is in this movie.
Fact: genuinely chilling performances – be they Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List or Aaron Eckhart in In The Company Of Men – succeed because they retain enough grounding in an innate communal sense of humanity (and the boundaries thereof) to make the viewer wonder: just how much of that on-screen monster is present in the deepest darkest recesses of my psyche?
Another Fact: going "fff-fff-fff-fffaaaaa" with your lips just makes you sound silly.
It isn’t just Hopkins that’s to blame for Silence Of The Lambs. There’s also a badly-written, B-Movie standard screenplay (go and watch it again. Seriously. It’s pantomime) and Jodie Foster‘s career-worst ‘performance’ – something so phoned-in it could have its own T-Mobile sponsorship. Proof if proof be needed that Oscar-winning is like juggling blue lemons – it’s largely without merit and doesn’t really prove anything.
Still. Not quite as bad as Hannibal, was it?
[story by C J Davies]
Vanessa says
Are you crazy? Have you read the screenplay? It’s genius! And when else in Hollywood cinema do we ever get to see a woman’s point of view the way that we can see how Jodie Foster’s character navigates and negotiates her encounters with men throughout the film.
This isn’t just a pyschological horror film. Watch again.
Captain Correct says
You are all simply jealous morons, and if you think Silence Of The Lambs, Arctic Monkeys or anything else you’ve reviewed is rubbish its only because you yourselves lack any kind of talent or initiative, or perhaps even opposable thumbs.
If you stopped picking fleas off each other for a minute and tried to culture yourselves you would hear how well-written and thoughtful the Arctics’ lyrics are – and the amount of gigs they do in a week probably represents the sum of all the work you have ever done in your lives.
As for Silence Of The Lambs, pretty much the entire world regards this as a masterpiece of fim-making, acting and screenplay, so please ask yourselves if you think it is the whole world that are idiots or just you.
CJDavies says
Ah, ‘Captain’.
Normally we let comments lie – we don’t like breaking down the ‘fourth wall’ and all that.
Thought I’d make an exception in your case.
The fact that hecklerspray is crewed by talented up-and-coming writers and is the biggest entertainment blog in the UK may just imply – on a communal level – that we’re something of a hard-working bunch (contrary to your assertion).
And on a more personal note …
So I’m lacking ‘talent and initiative’, eh? Hmmm. The fact that I’m a commissioned screenwriter/documentary producer/journalist/playwright in talks with a couple of people about his debut novel (by the age of 23, I might add – not that I want to sound immodest or anything, but what exactly do YOU do?) could well be evidence stacked firmly against your assumption.
Oh, and Artic Monkeys suck balls like a defective lottery machine.
Thanks for listening.
clarice says
Are you kidding? Silence of the lambs is the best film ever!!!!
duh thats why it WON 5 OSCARS! AND In my opinion was Hopkins and Fosters best performances ever.Plus the book and the film were bestsellers which proves you are deluded ,plus if its so crap why are they re releasing it?
answer that question my friend.Plus Brian Cox was dreadful,i’ve never seen such awful acting in my life.so reconsider your opinion .ta ta clarice
Sokth says
Whilst I don’t agree with you, I’m not posting this simply to add another notch to the “best film evar!111!!!11” tally.
I’m posting about the manner of your argument. If I had read the reply to the comment made by ‘Captain Correct’ I would perhaps have expected a 23 year-old super-talented to construct a real argument, especially when trying to discredit a film that has been so generously worshipped by, well, just about everyone.
But what do I see? You’ve used 209 words to discredit this film. There’s no real structure (but marks for paragraphing!) to your argument. There’s no evidence. You say the screenplay is pantomime? Give me an example. When is it pantomime? You say Hopkins fails in this movie – and here you make a weak attempt at justifying it only to fall flat on your face, merely hinting at what you believe his performance lacks.
The only thing that post convinces me of is your arrogance. I’m not here to insult you, but when it’s so glaringly obvious, perhaps you need to at least re-think the tone of your piece. It’s either that, or you’re going for a style that aims not to argue, but to completely shock and anger your audience – which, seeing the comments you have managed quite succinctly.
But, seeing as you’re in talks about your first book and a commissioned screenwriter I’d hazard a guess that this wasn’t some gruesome negative attention stunt. In that case, I’d say that your pride in being such a young, successful author has gone to your head just a little bit. Now you’re just being arrogant, sloppy and posting reviews that are hardly worth a reader’s time. My advice? Slow down, realise you’re not the best. Maybe take a look at the things I’m currently being taught in secondary school.
Post Scriptum – However, have not seen Brian Cox’s rendition of Lecter. Will have to see this film and will give feedback. As such, I don’t believe I am in a position to judge the content of your review as of yet. Expect another comment sometime in the future.
Merz says
brain cox performance of Hannibal Lector (Lektor) left me thinking am I supposed to fear this man as a evil character? He did not suit the role at all and you could almost see him thinking how he can put on the performance. Yet he did have his moments with quirks that are out of the scrips such as his fast talking confidence. still what made silence of lambs one of my favorite films was Anthony Hopkins performance. The eerie-ness of his character and my favorite moment were he was wheeled to see the senator, it was not the fact he was tied up or masked, it was the simplicity of his over reaction with his eyes. It shows that he is not doing this as an actor, but as Hannibal Lector’s performance for the prison guards. What brian cox failed to do was create what is VERY important in Hannibal’s character, his thinking process (such as with his eyes), the fact that Hannibal is a genius and is always calculation, judging and thinking. This was done most well in the slight reactions in Hopkins face when he gets an answer he wants. Hopkins performance was the best acting I have ever seen and there would never be any person to match his perfected performance of Hannibal Lector.
Although Hannibal the movie did suck badly, it still could not tarnish the amazingness of Anthony Hopkins.
Sparky says
Whatever you are smoking, snorting, and/or taking…pas that shit around already.