Silencing the Lambs

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2004)

**Deemed spoilers**
No matter how many times I watch this film, I always get the deep sense of brilliance taken from the first time I watched it.
This is certainly one of the better films of our generation - In light of the a-typical "horror" movies of today, Silence of the Lambs is in a considerable class of its own. Although gruesome in parts, it perfectly balances the sense of fear and psychological reliance's the different characters have upon each other.
The play between Lecter and Starling (Hopkins and Foster) is a duo that rarely is seen on screen, and was utterly plausible. Starling walks into Baltimore as a trainee FBI agent (and as others have commented before me, this perhaps is the only bone of contention, the reality or lack of henceforth of a training agent being assigned to the case) and you feel she leaves Lecter's cell a completely different person. Relenting all the pressure people have hyped around Hannibal "Cannibal" Lecter she reaches him with no airs and graces and willingly accepts the feat. The relationship develops into something on a level of trust, Clarice recognising Lecters needs and desires, and when he escapes towards the end of the film she is aware and sure he will not come and find her. This is the kind of rapport they built up during the movie, almost the blind leading the blind. Lecter had a sense of dependency on Starling as much as she had upon him, although she to a more extreme extent.
Hopkin's and Foster play the characters with absolute precision and to this day I know anyone else having been cast in those roles would have not found themselves anywhere near the on-screen chemistry (platonic, of course) that the aforementioned actors had. Hopkin's is in a class of his own as the mentally inept yet frighteningly intelligent Lecter and Foster is equally magnetic as the vulnerable, shielding Starling trying her hardest to face the horrors in front of her. Her reliance on Lecter is more than just meets the eye - Her main priorities were to deal with the "Buffalo Bill" case but you can see having spoken to Lecter on numerous levels she took a sense of knowledge and experience out of it. The connection on an emotional level was fantastic to watch, especially as Lecter purges out Starling's memories of her troubled youth. Foster, in particular, played this part wonderfully.
My favourite scene is most probably when Clarice is visiting the home of one of "Bill's" victim, and whilst looking around the rooms she notices the closet, adorned with fabric reading in dress making. Realising what Bill is doing to his victims (and without trying to give too much away) she immediately phones HQ and the desperation in her voice as she tries to articulate her discovery is the first in many climax's the film offers.
Behind the clear thriller sense of the film and the tendency to sit on the edge of your seat (the first time you watch it, you will have a completely new concept of a "thriller/horror" movie, especially if you are seeing it for the first time from here forth) the stories of the character weave so well together and as well as enjoying the build up of suspense, you also come to appreciate the characters themselves. In my humble opinion the prequel and sequel of Silence of the Lambs didn't get near what this 1991 excellence gave to the audience.
A definite 9/10.