Classic and worth it

Rating: 9/10 (28 October 2017)

The Silence of the Lambs. The movie which Anthony Hopkins took for a children movie when first hearing it's name. It's a bit difficult to talk about the film considering how highly it's awarded and loved especially if you have to say something bad which thankfully is not the case with me except few small episodes. This is the first actual movie I have seen based on Thomas Harris novels featuring Hannibal Lecter and I know many remember it as a horrifying childhood classic but for me this was a first time seeing it.
So the work is based on the novel of the same name – The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. The plot figures around young FBI trainee Clarice Starling struggling to catch serial killer called "Buffalo Bill" by media – a sickly individual who skins his victims. However for this she needs to seek help from another serial killer institutionalized in a mental hospital – psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter and captivate his sympathy so he would be willing to help. Of course this includes a lot of mind games, riddles and uneasy psychoanalysis from Dr. Lecter's part including revelation of Clarice's most terrifying childhood memories about screaming lambs at the ranch waiting in line for the slaughter.
The movie has a very grim and unsettling mood which I feel is quite common in 90s cinema. I believe this is mainly because of masterfully crafted Howard Shore's soundtrack for the picture. I also enjoyed the post-punk tracks. Movie features some passionate violence scenes to Bach's Goldberg Variations - the kind of music which always fits movies like this.
I absolutely loved Jodie Foster portraying Clarice – her performance was very passionate, deep and emotionally enthralling. Anthony Hopkins' genius as Hannibal goes without saying – so intimidating, agile and elegant. No wonder they both won Oscars as "best actor/actress in a leading role" for their work in this movie. Though I was disappointed with Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford recalling in my mind Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus!) portraying the same character in Hannibal TV series. I can't say Scott acted bad but it surely did lack something. Continuing on not-so-good-things, if you will, I felt like Hannibal's character was a bit too overdone in some scenes and felt artificial (I don't think characters like this would always feel artificial) but I think it's more of a screenplay issue than Hopkins' fault.
The Silence of the Lambs leaves mysterious and morbid aftertaste. There are lots of psychological concepts and ideas to occupy your mind in sleepless nights. Not forgetting deep symbolism like moth, lambs, forest etc. Hearing lambs screaming early in a morning is a very imaginative and horrifying image which is searching for a place in your mind to root in. The movie makes me think about how lives of other people can be so dependent upon one person and how big role human personality and personal sympathies can play in such matter. The movie is scored 8.6 in IMDb which I find disappointing and I would say it's stable 9 and perhaps a bit more. Somehow the film reminds me of David Lynch's Blue Velvet – it's quite different but I feel like they share some notion and feeling in common.