Clarice: Silence is Purgatory 2021

Clarice
Season 1 - Episode 9
”Silence is Purgatory”

Synopsis

The River Murders are linked to a pharmaceutical company, so Clarice seeks help from their corporate accountant; Catherine goes outside for the first time since her rescue from Buffalo Bill.

Awards and Activism

This episode of “Clarice” was special for a number of reasons, two especially. First, our cinematographer received “Best Cinematography in a TV drama” from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), as well as a nomination for this episode at the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). And second, the episode involved a deeply important scene that set out to right the wrongs inflicted on the trans community by the character of Buffalo Bill. This scene was an honor to direct, and holding the space for actress, writer and activist Jen Richards to bear her soul and her truth was one of the great privileges of the work we get to do.

The Cast

Every actor on “Clarice” made my job as director so easy. Rebecca Breeds was perfection, carrying an enormous task as Clarice. Her performance was so precise, specific, smart, and deeply moving. I loved how there was not a moment of victimhood in her Clarice, but the layers of wounds, and depths of pain just simmered under the surface. And her choices for when to let a layer peel off or crack open and reveal the underbelly to the audience were so beautiful. All of the surrounding cast took on their roles with such a depth of care, I would be so moved sometimes by just a single look by Michael Cudlitz, Lucca de Oliveira, or Devyn Tyler and Nick Sandow always walked that perfect tension of wry humor and deadly seriousness.

Reclamation

Working with Jen Richards on the scene of reclaiming the harmful narrative around Buffalo Bill was truly a highlight of my career. I appreciated so much the effort of our showrunner, Elizabeth Klaviter, to bring Jen into the storytelling of the show, giving her the opportunity and voice to speak for her community which had no voice at the time of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Jen created a speech that she performed with such clarity, pain and deeply moving conviction. This speech gave her the chance to speak for herself and the trans community, and the harm that was caused by Buffalo Bill. The reality of Buffalo Bill in relation to the trans community is that he was yet another cruel and stigmatizing depiction of a trans person, and in a lot of audiences, their first impression of what a trans person is. It had, sadly, a painful and unjust impact on trans people, and leaves a mark on the integrity of the film. And yet now with more appropriate representation in the media, some healing, and speaking of the real underlying truth of a violent society can be brought to the forefront. Where audiences can hear trans people, and truly connect with their stories, having gone untold for too long. It was incredibly powerful for Jen to speak the truth of this harm and give such a deeply personal performance to bring some semblance of reclamation.

The Well

Working together with my DP Brendan Steacy, we used a crane to swiftly move the camera from a high angle above Catherine Martin, leaning on a lamp post in the snow, down into a close up of her, like going down into the well of her psyche, mirroring her memories of the well, startled and fragile as she tries to make her way through the outside world.

I loved getting to bring this character we know from the film, “The Silence of the Lambs” into our current storytelling landscape, viscerally experiencing her trauma and her rage, played with fierce fragility by Marnee Carpenter. I was also inspired by the courage it took for Rebecca and Marnee to take on such iconic characters, and they did so with such commitment and grace.