The brilliant filmmaker Jonathan Demme passed away this past week at the age of 73.  His films included Married to the Mob and Philadelphia, but it was The Silence of the Lambs that won him an Academy Award for Best Director.  The movie also won Best Picture, Best Actor (for Anthony Hopkins) and Best Actress (for Jodie Foster).   Hannibal Lecter’s story has been fleshed out (pun intended) a lot since his original appearance in 1981’s novel Red Dragon through books, additional movies, television and stage, and while I’m largely immune to the character himself at this point (and, frankly, have not liked any other parts of his story … it’s Clarice Starling’s growth and self-discovery enabled by this madman that I think is most compelling), Jonathan Demme’s movie still draws me in and keeps me sitting on the edge of my seat.  It’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

There are a lot of memorable lines from The Silence of the Lambs, but one that has always stuck with me is when Hannibal Lecter comments on what he sees in Clarice Starling when he looks at her with her “good bag [and] cheap shoes.”  Now, for me it’s just the opposite … I like me some nice shoes, but when I go to work or on a business trip, there’s an epic fail by me with the good bag.  It’s pretty obvious people find it totally incongruous, but thankfully they’re not reading my whole upbringing into it a la Hannibal Lecter.

I’ll admit that when I travel on a business trip, I don’t even try.  I carry a canvas backpack like I’m still back in college.  It’s easy to carry; it zips securely so I know nothing will fall out; it has plenty of space for a computer and legal pads; it offers good organization with interior and exterior pockets; and it scrunches up really well under seats or next to windows.  Friends tell me that I could probably find a tote that meets most of these requirements, but I have yet to find one that is as functional as a backpack.  (But if you know of one, I’m all ears.)

For work, I did at least try by getting this super-cool 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli PVC Satchel from Barney’s Co-Op a few years back.  I thought it was perfect because it was translucent, so instead of digging around in my bag constantly, worrying I had lost my keys or my office badge (an almost daily occurrence), I could just hold up my bag and glance through it quickly:

But along with advantages to translucency come disadvantages.  (There is an interior pocket, so it’s not the one you may be thinking.)  After some time, all of that stuff that falls to the bottom of your bag … wrappers and loose Tylenol (which get all ground up) and change and stray pen caps and God knows what else … is on display for everyone to see, along with all the papers and receipts and bills that collect from day to day.  Perhaps if I made an effort to clean it out every week it wouldn’t be so bad, but that’s never been too high on the priority scale.

AND YET … I do have some amazing bags, like this unbelievable tweed Chanel handbag I got second-hand from Gilt (http://www.gilt.com) that I’m wearing with a Monse striped dress I got from Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com).  Too bad I only tend to break them out on the weekends.  So while I never hope to run into Hannibal Lecter, on the off-chance I do so, it better be a Saturday or Sunday.