"I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." It's one of the most quoted lines in film history and appreciated for the malevolent calmness of Sir Anthony Hopkins' delivery.
But Dr Lecter's choice of sides weren't based on his taste predilections, he was making a medical joke.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) could have been used to treat him, and what are the three things you're not allowed to eat while taking them? Liver, beans and wine.
Jonathan Demme uses this effect often. By framing a character in a close up in the center of the frame and having them look into the lens, the audience feels as if the character is looking directly at them. It has the psychological sense of someone coming into one's personal space. Silence of the Lambs as well as some of his other films, Philadelphia & Manchurian Candidate, use this technique.