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Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2006)

To keep up the goody goody cannibal spirit: "Silence of the Lambs" is a finger-licking GREAT thriller and one of the most righteous Academy Award winners in the history of cinema. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm a big fan of nerve-racking thrillers and, let's face it, nerve-racking thrillers hardly ever win any Oscars, but apparently all audiences as well as all critics seem to agree that "Silence of the Lambs" is the worthy conquerer of 5 awards in the most eminent categories. The foundations of this cinematic milestone couldn't have been better, of course, with Thomas Harris' intriguing characterizations and basic story-idea (the efficiency was already proved in 1986, with "Manhunter") but really a lot of the film's brilliance is added by the Jonathan Demme and his outstanding cast. Despite not having directed a lot of horror/thriller films before this, Demme's knowledge of the genres is impressive and he terrifically manages to bring a constant level of tension without ever resorting to graphic violence or explicit gore. And that's quite an accomplishment because, primarily, "The Silence of the Lambs" handles about a sadistic serial killer, who eats his victims, who's recruited to assist in catching another sadistic serial killer, who skins his victims! Young FBI-trainee Clarice Starling is sent to Dr. Hannibal Lector's isolated prison cell to profile the new killer Buffalo Bill. But the highly intelligent and sophisticated Lector is only prepared to reveal clues about Buffalo Bill's modus operandi in exchange for answers to personal questions regarding Clarice's childhood.
Apart from being a truly exciting and rather educational serial-killer chase, "The Silence of the Lambs" also definitely is a compelling psychological drama-triumph! The 'Quid Pro Quo' conversations between Clarice and Dr. Lector are portrayed like highly competitive duels in which the young FBI agent isn't necessarily the weakest party! These conversations revolve on how determined both of them are willing to go in order to find out what they need to know and, simultaneously, we get to know how vulnerable Clarice actually is. These marvelous sequences appear to be even stronger thanks to the genuinely eerie and cold setting of Hannibal Lector's old, windowless cell. The camera perspectives throughout the whole film, as well as the cinematography in general, are impeccable and often trend-setting! Particularly classic is the "parallel" climax, which actually is a ridiculously simple and misleading trick but increases the suspense to an unprecedented high point. And then, of course, there are the acting performances but what praise can I possibly add that hasn't been said before? Anthony Hopkins is in one word hypnotic, Jodie Foster is pragmatic but truly overpowering and Ted Levine is genuinely terrifying as the personification of human complexity!