The Silence of the Lambs remains one of the greatest movies of all time, but that doesn’t mean it is a perfect movie thanks to its representation of gender with the character of Buffalo Bill. For 35 years, the Oscar-winning movie has continued to shock audiences, thanks mostly to a career-defining performance from Anthony Hopkins as the manipulative and seductive Hannibal Lecter, but it has also been steeped in controversy from the transgender community for the movie’s real villain being viewed as trans-identifying and gender nonconforming. This is something actor Ted Lavine, who played Bill in the movie, has mixed feelings over.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Levine said, “There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well. We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
Obviously, The Silence of the Lambs is a pretty close adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel, and although the book does give a more detailed dive into the psyche of Bill, it still tells the same story. When the movie was being filmed, Levine, like everyone else, saw nothing amiss in what they were doing in the film.
“[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender. It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f*cking wrong. And you can quote me on that. I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f*cked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing.”
The Silence of the Lambs Producer Acknowledges LGBTQ Issues
In the same piece, director Jonathan Demme’s producing partner, Edward Saxton, also acknowledged that when making the movie, there were no real thoughts given to how LGBTQ viewers would be affected by the movie. While the pair would next work together on Philadelphia, a movie with a deep and strong LGBTQ storyline, making Lambs as close to the novel meant that some things slipped by. Saxon said:
“We were really loyal to the book. As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans. He was sick. To that extent, we missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.
“There’s regret, but it didn’t come from any place of malice. It actually came from a place of seeing this guy. We all had dear friends and family who were gay. We thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology.”
Despite its divisive villain, The Silence of the Lambs remains a true cinematic masterpiece, deeply disturbing, compelling, and with some of the greatest bait-and-switch moments in movie history for those who have never seen it before. The performances of Hopkins and Foster were worth every accolade they received, and Demme proved his directorial talent many times over in the final act. After 35 years, The Silence of the Lambs still retains every bit of the power it brought to cinemas in 1991.
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