The perfect psychological thriller

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2010)

'The Silence of the Lambs'. This movie literally made cinema's history in the evening of March, 30th, 1992. It was Oscar's night, and Jonathan Demme's thriller went home with all the five major awards - Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, becoming only the third movie is history to ever achieve this accomplishment (the other ones are 1934 Frank Capra's 'It Happened One Night' and 1975 Milos Forman's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'). And the Academy was perfectly right, as 'The Silence of the Lambs' is easily the best movie of 1991 and one of the best thrillers of all-time. It deserved all the awards it got.
'The Silence of the Lambs' is based on one of Thomas Harris' novels about serial-killer Hannibal Lecter. But Lecter only appears in the movie within 13 minutes of runtime. Before that, we are presented to the movie's major plot, that is centered around Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster). Clarice is a young FBI agent that is assigned to the case of Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), a serial killer that skins his victims and then throws them in a river. But in order to gather information for the case, Clarice must talk to Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), the most feared and dangerous serial killer in the world. The story here doesn't have a lot of originality, but the way the movie explains it to the audience is simply amazing. The character development is incredible, the dialogs are outstanding and the montages are breath-taking. I couldn't blink not even for one second, which proves how good the writing is. The first of the five major Oscars was certainly very well-deserved. Thumbs up for Thomas Harris for the novel and for Ted Tally for the excellent adaptation.
Now, let's talk about the acting, and there is only one thing to say about it: it couldn't be any better. The whole supporting cast is outstanding, with the exception of Brooke Smith, as one of Buffalo Bill's victims. She was just average, nothing special to it. But the member of the supporting cast that stands out is certainly Ted Levine. He should have been at least Oscar-nominated for his performance as Buffalo Bill, a quite creepy interpretation. Aside from the supporting cast, also composed by Scott Glenn and Anthony Heald, all the attention here goes for the two leading roles. Both Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are perfect, specially Hopkins. Even though he has only 27 minutes of screen-time, Hopkins managed to deliver one of the most memorable performances of the 1990's decade. All his gestures, that creepy coolness, the tones his voice reaches... it's all perfect for the character. None other actor could have done a better job, another very well-deserved Oscar. The other leading role here goes to Jodie Foster. Of course she is not as great as Anthony Hopkins, but she also delivers a very memorable performance. Her naiveness, the hidden South accent, her desperate struggle to impress her superiors - Clarice Starling and Jodie Foster are only one. Again, a deserved Oscar award - this time for Best Actress.
The fourth Oscar award this movie received was Best Director for Jonathan Demme. And the guy really impresses you on his directing work. The movie wouldn't be the same nor it would have the same recognition if it wasn't for him. The places Demme puts the camera are excellent, as he did it for the audience to feel in the skin of Clarice Starling. And in order to do this, Demme makes all the characters look straight into the camera, except for Clarice, that never does this, always looking at another direction. There are also a few scenes (most tracking-shots) designed to be like the the eyes of Clarice. And her childhood memories only increases the audience's approach to Jodie Foster's character. Another deserved Oscar-award.
The movie was also Oscar-nominated for Best Sound and Best Editing. The Sound here is nothing out of the ordinary, with nice Sound Effects, but a lousy musical score. Nothing that takes away the movie's accomplishments, tough. As for Best Editing, it should have got the award. Craig McKay's editing work is outstanding, as the audience is fooled to believe in things that turn out to be others. I'm not gonna spoil it here, but you are gonna feel pretty dumb once you find out the tricks McKay used. The cinematography here is also nothing out of the ordinary, such as the other aspects. Nothing that's worth mentioning.
Overral, 'The Silence of the Lambs' is the perfect psychological thriller. The fact it won all the five major awards at the Oscars only proves my point, and they were all extremely well-deserved. The writing is amazing, the acting is perfect, and the directing is outstanding. You put that with one of the most memorable performances of the decade by Anthony Hopkins, join with a great editing work, ferocious dialogs and an impressive directing, and you have the best movie of 1991. From all the five major awards, the last one was the most well-deserved: Best Picture.
10/10