A great film, worth watching.

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2002)

Now don't get me wrong, I liked the movie a great deal, but I really can't understand why this movie has such a high rating and is so high on the IMDB top 250. I guess I just can't seem to place what this film has that other films of the same nature don't have. But, like I said, don't get me wrong, I thought this was an excellent film.
Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins were fantastic in their respect roles and really had some great chemistry between their characters. The supporting cast members, Anthony Heald, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, and Frankie Faison were very good as well. Also, the directing of Jonathan Demme was excellent.
I thought the story was quite interesting and very well done. The film is rarely boring and keeps a good pace throughout the film. But keep in mind that this film is rather graphic in certain scenes. There is an R rating for a reason.
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone that enjoys a good crime-triller or liked the previous Thomas Harris adaptation, "Manhunter". Seeing "Manhunter" is by no means a prerequisite to this film, but it may be a good idea to see it first and/or the recently released "Red Dragon" (a re-make of "Manhunter"). If you do get around to seeing this film, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,
-Chris