One of the greatest thrillers of all time

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2015)

I read somewhere that Anthony Hopkins has little more than 15 minutes actual screen time in a feature that runs just under two hours. For me, whenever Silence of the Lambs is brought up I instantly think of Dr Hannibal Lecter. This speaks volumes for how much of a powerful and memorable performance he gives as one of the best villains of all time, despite only featuring for around an eighth of the movie. His performance/character is faultless and gives a completely different approach to so many other villains we see in the movies, he is calm, well educated, has an intelligent vocabulary, witty sarcasm and is brutally honest. But on the other hand he is also intriguing, disturbing and very uneasy to watch. The greatest thing about him though is how he is caged off from the world in each of his scenes, like a monster, he isn't accessible and comes across as untouchable. The most baffling thing of all though is that despite Hopkins playing a serial killer cannibal who is criminally deranged, you actually have a strange sense of fondness towards him. At one point I felt myself feeling sorry for him, how is that even possible? Hats off to the creators and Anthony Hopkins for that to give the viewer that feeling, quite the achievement!
Jodie Foster gives an incredible performance and this is easily my favourite out of all the roles she has played. She plays a young, trainee detective who is extremely vulnerable and is struggling to deal with the demons of her childhood. Buffalo Bill is a serial killer on the loose and the FBI are running out of time to catch him, Jodie Foster's character is sent to visit Hannibal Lecter to do research into the mind of a serial killer. She visits him in his confined mental institute where he is serving his life sentence. Hannibal Lecter starts to mentor Jodie Foster and the few scenes we get of these two, either on opposite side of reinforced glass are some of the most intense but somehow touching scenes I have experienced.
The plot is perfect and stays very grounded, it knows what it wants to be and it stays true to itself throughout. It doesn't get over complicated or take any unnecessary risks, it simply does what it needs to and the actors do the rest with their fantastic characters and script. There is one scene in particular that stays in my mind when thinking of this movie and It is very tense and disturbing but shows us just what we need to see, it isn't overly gory for the sake of it. This is what Silence of the Lambs does so well, it is very graphic yet it doesn't make you want to look away in disgust, instead it connects with you very well.
Silence of the Lambs has it all, it has a solid plot, characters with depth and development, incredible acting, tension and a great script. All it needs in my opinion is some more screen time for Hannibal Lector as he really is a faultless villain but then on the other hand the way he is used is subtle and could well be more effective because of this. Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest thrillers I have seen and it deserves all the awards and accolades it has received over the past 24 years.
9/10