Breathtaking film

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2007)

I had never seen Silence of the Lambs and decided to pick up the book by Thomas Harris recently. I was thrilled by the book and I read the entire thing in about a week. I then hungered to see the award winning movie that I'd heard so much about. I wasn't disappointed at all. The cinematography is awesome, Foster and Hopkins turn in A+++ performances and the story contains the book's intricacies while moving at a pace fast enough to satisfy. The only detail left out of the movie that was in the book was that of Crawford's wife's death and ongoing sickness. I think this really made Crawford seem rather one dimensional in Silence of the Lambs and takes a lot away from his character in the book. My girlfriend had only seen the movie and she described him as a bit of a sleaze which shocked me because he is such a genuine and honestly good man in the book that is simply in the middle of a massive internal conflict. However, this does not really detract from the movie at all, I simply felt that Crawford was an underdone character but understand the need to simplify him. I suggest reading the book before seeing the movie. Bon appetite.