Foster and Hopkins make it work.

Rating: Null/10 (6 July 2003)

At the risk of offending quite a few of you out there, this one of the most overrated films of all time. Not to say that it isn't a very good film; It is VERY good, but certainly not among the top 25 of all time.
My main concern with this film is that it white washes over some key ideas in Thomas Harris's novel that are very important to the telling of the story. The main thing this film fails to cover is the motivation behind Jame Gumb's killing and subsequent skinning of the women. We never even learn until the last 15 minutes or so what he is using the skin for, and we NEVER learn why he feels he has to do it. A true psychological thriller is best served by providing the motivation behind the violent acts it depicts.

The performances of Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lecter are what make this film version of Harris's novel work. Both have an incredible grasp of what makes their character compelling. Foster the ambitious FBI trainee with a troubled childhood, and Hopkins the brilliant, but psychotic doctor who breaks her down emotionally for his own amusement in return providing info on Jame Gumb. You could just feel the tension in the theater when he asked her to come CLOSER.....CLOSER with her ID badge so he could get a better look at it. Wow!
Other than those two performances, this film is nothing special. Scott Glenn is too wooden as Jack Crawford. Ted Levine is a good actor, but I think he was miscast as Gumb. The screenplay is paced a little too quickly and by-the-numbers for my taste. There are only a few scenes that are as tense as they should have been. Anthony Heald is way over the top as Chilton. He almost comes off as a cartoon character.
I suppose if I'd never read the book, I'd like this film a lot more. I still haven't seen RED DRAGON because I fear the same disappointment is looming there, too. RED DRAGON is my favorite novel of all time, so I just don't see how the film could live up to that standard. I did like MANHUNTER quite a bit, though.
Over all, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a very good film. It just isn't quite deserving of the "classic" status it has been given. Read the book!
4 of 5 stars
So sayeth the Hound.