One of the best murder mystery thrillers you will ever see

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2014)

I first saw Silence when it came out in late 1991. A friend and I saw it, and left the theater stunned. It was the first time I have ever had trouble sleeping after watching a movie, so impactful was the content.
Silence is flawless in all aspects. Casting, screenplay/plot, direction, cinematography, and editing are superb. By now, we are all familiar with Dr Lector (Anthony Hopkins), the deranged, brilliant psychologist who does battle with the forces of good, here represented by the FBI's Clarice Starling (Jody Foster. Perhaps her last great role). Hopkin's performance is a tour de force of acting. He uses words like knives to stab at Clarice, exposing her checkered past, extracting information that he stores to dig into her later on. And Clarice, a young FBI agent with strong experience in psychology, is clearly overmatched by Dr Lector. They play a back and forth cat and mouse game that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Excellent casting includes the sanitarium head, Dr Chilton (Anthony Heald) who plays this sleazy Head who covets having Dr Lector as his prize while clumsily trying to snag a date with Clarice. Scott Glenn portrays Dr Crawford, Clarice's boss whom she looks up to. He has his own demons he's dealing with that are never fully revealed, and the father-mentor interaction between him and Clarice is palpable. Finally, there's the other evil force, excellently played by Ted Levine.
There is a significant amount of killing, and some very viscerally evil scenes that are not for the squeamish. You will be moved, so if you are not good with strong physical scenes, you may want to close your eyes a lot. But you must see this film. The final piece is the editing and directing, which weaves every scene together so it all adds up and makes sense at the end, kind of like in Forest Gump, but with evil intent, not kindness.
This film was one of those rare gems that even the Oscars got right by awarding it the triple crown of Oscars - Best picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. It also won best screenplay. If you have not seen this movie, it's a must-see that you should put on your list. Make sure you are prepared for the darkness of evil portrayed so brilliantly in the Silence of the Lambs. Enjoy.