slightly over rated, but great classic thriller

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2017)

Silence Of The Lambs is, in my opinion, one of the most emotionally charged thrillers ever filmed. Slightly over rated ( I did not feel it was good enough to win Best Picture at the time), and a bit uneven at times, but it does tell quite a compelling and engrossing story. Foster plays the role of Clarice Starling, a very young trainee at the FBI academy. She is assigned a case that will almost guarentee her a certified license of the FBI, but it won't be easy. It seems the Senators daughter has been kidnapped, and the branch seems to strongly suspect that it is tied in with the Buffalo Bill victims. These victims have been found, all female, and all missing several, various skin patterns from their bodies. All of the information that Starling needs to catch this freak is in the hands of one man, Dr. Hannibal Lechtor. There's only one problem...he won't talk to anybody. When he finally meets Clarice, he seems to melt at the first sight of her, and he does talk to her. He slowly gives her the information that she needs, but it's not for free. Through a bizarre, unique "pro quo", the doctor releases her data on one of his patients, who he is even convinced is the killer at large. ( Pro quo is a, "what's in it for me"? deal in which Foster must reveal something about herself, in order to get what she wants. Here's where it gets tricky. And this is all plays out beautifully: Clarice is warned that Lechtor is slicker then ice, and was strongly advised that "you do not want this man inside your head." Unfortunately, that is where Clarice is allowing him to go, at the mercy of him giving her the name of the patient that is going around with the nickname Buffalo Bill. And we learn why. It's not because she wants her FBI badge, she really cares about the victim who may or may not still be alive. She has a glimmer of hope that she is alive, and that she can indeed save her. Out of all victims, she just wants to save one. But can she save her own sanity while doing so? The Silence Of The Lambs is not a perfect movie, and neither was the book. I found a lot of it implasussible, and the over dramatic cinematography prevented me from giving this piece 8 stars. ( The end of the film, when Clarice is holding the phone, and she says the doctors name over and over like a skipping CD, when it is clear that he has hung up the phone, is an excellent example of what I am talking about. ) And it cannot be denied Hopkins stole the show with his performance. Scary and gruesome as hell, I think this still reigns supreme to this very day.