The lambs are unlikely to ever stop screaming.

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2010)

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a young rookie FBI agent, is enlisted to help in the hunt for a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To aid the investigation she is requested to interview an already incarcerated psychopath, the infamous Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Cunning and very intelligent, Lecter takes a shine to Starling but will only assist her if she is prepared to let him into her personal make up. As Buffalo Bill kidnaps the daughter of an American senator the clock starts to tick down
The Silence of the Lambs is directed by Jonathan Demme and stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, and Ted Levine. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. It won the top five Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay. With a production budget of $19 million the film went on to record a staggering Worldwide profit of almost $254 million. Those awards and those figures don't lie, The Silence Of The Lambs is one of the rare occasions where everything came together perfectly.
The source novel is in truth brilliant anyway, but how many times have we seen film makers make a hash of good material by either cutting corners, or by trying to be too Hollywood in the telling? Too many is the answer. Jonathan Demme and his team know that not much needs tampering here, their task was to understand Thomas Harris' complex characters and give them narrative strength, which they got courtesy of Ted Tally's brilliant writing. The portrayals of said characters have gone down in history to an extent they barely need me to have an opinion. From the first meeting of Starling and Lecter down in the bowels of the asylum, to the cheeky and unnerving closure, Foster & Hopkins engage and chill respectively, one of the weirdest, yet most tender relationships to have hit the silver screen. Scott Glenn is professional personified as Jack Crawford, while in the wake of Hopkins' classy monster show it gets forgotten just how brilliantly twisted Ted Levine makes Buffalo Bill. Two quality monsters for the price of one movie here, a bargain if ever there was one.
For all the plaudits for cast, direction and writing et al, "Lambs" climbed to the top echelons of 90s cinema because it also exists as an excellent thriller, even a pant filling horror at times. While it also works very well as a criminal procedure movie. We know who the killer is quite early on in proceedings, but with Lecter tossing out conundrums and the FBI utilising all their tricksy scientific methods, it makes for a fascinating watch. And lest we forget that Demme shows himself to not only be a purveyor of adroit pacing, but quite a dab hand at thrilling set-pieces too-one that would be a spoiler should I mention it, and the other coming during a wonderful double handed twister as the net hopefully closes in on Billy Boy. While for hold your breath tension, night vision goggles are your pal, or not as the case may be.
Not just one of the best crime/thriller/horror film's ever, one of the best film's ever, period. 10/10