It's wonderfully chilling moment. Hannibal might be the man behind the glass cage but he has all the power. He has sized Clarice Starling up and reveals his psychopathic nature, showing the poor FBI agent that he has absolute control of the situation. It also tells us everything we need to know about Hannibal Lecter. He is vastly intelligent. He is a master of language, both aggressive and intuitive at the same time. With those cold eyes. Anthony Hopkins delivers the monologue with such confidence in this one introduction that he immediately makes this film his own. Hannibal Lecter is a man to be feared and it takes a lot of courage to respond to that. Which of course, is something Clarice manages to do well. It truly is the beginning of an 'interesting' relationship.