an undisputed masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2009)

An extremely clever and sophisticated thriller that is aware of its own absurdities and never loses its balance between subtlety and excess. The narrative moves swiftly to accommodate a rather uncomfortable storyline (there isn't a false note on either script or direction), the pace and characters give it an extra vigour (Anthony Hopkins's performance as Dr Lecter is chillingly mannered), and the movie treats psychopathology with a genuinely perversive delight.
It is also probably the only shocker that serves as a credible sociological comment.
In other words, an undisputed masterpiece.