A good piece of cinema, but seemingly overrated beyond oblivion.

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2017)

I find "Silence of the Lambs" to be one of those movies that is hailed by one and all, and yet is underwhelming once watched - definitely good, but still underwhelming. You wonder what the hullabaloo was all about.
The settings were cartoonishly murky and dungeon-like, to the point that Lecter's asylum (and at points even Clarice's FBI training centre) looked like Hell itself. I also personally disliked the "screaming lambs" scene; it felt unnecessary and dragged, and Jodie Foster's emotional reactions to Hannibal's questions felt absolutely out of place. As if he miraculously healed her of her long nightmare-sufferings in an Osho-esque way.
Overall, the camera work, sound and direction are all great. I especially loved those first-person shots with Hopkins and Clarice. Very claustrophobia-inducing.
Coming to the acting, Anthony Hopkins, though mightily entertaining - very often chuckle-inducing with his sly sarcasm - came across as far from real. His performance was in no way what a true psychopath (especially one so well educated) would be like. I honestly did not find the man scary, though I did find his screen-presence charismatic and imposing.
Jodie Foster was excellent , her vulnerability, her subtle pretence in font of Hannibal, everything.
Ted Levine was marvellous - that strange voice, his quirky dialogue and body language - it all added up perfectly. A great example would be the scene where he gives a slight chuckle, and then runs behind a corner, when confronted at his house. Hard to believe this was the same man who played Pacino's subordinate cop in "Heat".
Scott Glenn underplays his role so well, that he seems disarmingly real - cool and calm. It's no surprise that Clarice wanted to work for this guy.
Conclusion: SOTL is by all means a very a good film, but to be called one of the greatest movies of all time? I don't think so.
It's predecessor "Manhunter" (1986) is by all means the superior Hannibal film, and in my humble opinion, much, much more significant a film (and by significant, I mean more worthy of being preserved in archives for times ahead, than "Silence of the Lambs") . Sadly, "Manhunter", although a cult classic now, has always been criminally under-appreciated and misunderstood (strong emphasis on "misunderstood") and has since remained under the shadow of this one.