One Of The Best Psychological Thrillers

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2006)

The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathon Demme, is one of my all time favourite films. It is also one of the only films that managed to scare me. Anthony Hopkins portrays Hannibal Lector with an unsavoury relish while Jodie Foster gives the performance of her career (which is saying a lot!). Ted Levine also gives a very weird, but excellent performance as Buffalo Bill.
Buffalo Bill, a woman killing transvestite, is kidnapping, killing and skinning young women. Agent Starling is assigned to gather information from Dr. Hannibal Lector who might provide insight into the mind of a psychopath. But the only way he will give her any information is for her to feed him details of her personal life.
This movie succeeds in all it sets out to do. Some scenes are very chilling and disturbing (especially the ending), which helps make a very uncomfortable atmosphere. The scenes with Hannibal and Clarice are very tense. The acting in this is flawless, with Hopkins and Foster both winning Oscars. The directing and screenplay also won an Oscar, with it also nabbing Best Picture.
5/5.