One of the most infamous thrillers ever to take home an Oscar

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2010)

There are many films out there with a reputation of being able to scare the living hell out of a viewer, but there is perhaps none as notorious as "The Silence of the Lambs." This is a demented and frightening motion picture, and that's the bottom line.
FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is assigned to do a psychological profile of a notorious serial killer, the brilliant and insane former psychologist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Her boss, Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) hopes that Lecter will be attracted to Starling's innocence, and help them catch a new serial killer, dubbed "Buffalo Bill." But Lecter won't do this for free, and the question becomes whether Starling is able to hold herself together against the evil doctor.
This film works as well as it does because it is crafted so well. Had the direction and the acting been pedestrian, this would be just another movie. However, Director Jonathan Demme is interested in exploring his characters and inviting us into the minds of these characters. People call this a horror movie, and that's not true. This is a psychological thriller in its purest form, and the violence and fear that the film generates is due to this exploration. To do this, Demme uses a lot of close-ups so that we can study their facial features, which allows us to understand their emotions on a physical level. This is applying to our basic instincts, and it works; it allows us a deeper understanding of the characters.
However, Demme's skill only goes so far; it's up to the actor's to take up the rest of the slack. And the performances by its two stars make a rather unique story into a legendary excursion into fear.
Everyone knows his name. Hannibal Lecter, or more by his nickname, Hannibal the Cannibal. Lecter is the personification of evil, and there is no character more frightening than the chilling psychopath played by Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins uses his eyes (he seldom blinks) and his voice to chill us to the very bone. When he walks, it's slow and methodical. Being inside a caged cell does not stop him from looking at the person outside (which from the camera position, is usually us) feel like we are being stalked by a predator. Surprisingly, in this film, Lector is only on screen for 16 minutes, yet the impact of his performance is permanent. Few performances have been more justly rewarded than Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
His counterpart, Clarice Starling, is portrayed by Jodie Foster, who it seems doesn't know how to give a bad performance. Foster is brilliant as the spunky trainee. She's in over her head, but her determination to solve the case and keep her psyche in one piece makes her a perfect match for Lecter, something they both realize. Although Hopkins gets all the credit, Foster's brilliant performance makes him even better than Hopkins could by himself. Both of their performances compliment each other well, which elevates the project from solid into brilliant. The other actors are effective, but Foster and Hopkins are the ones that really make the film what it is.
This isn't a flawless movie; quite frankly, it's just not as frightening as its legend suggests, and the psychological explorations of the characters by critics and the actors make the film promise something that it doesn't have. This is simply a superbly executed thriller, one that relies on character to succeed instead of special effects.
Nevertheless, this film will scare you (the climax is genuinely terrifying). And it introduces us (to the definitive interpretation at least...Brian Cox played the role in "Manhunter" in the 80s) to one of cinema's most notorious characters. That alone is reason enough to see this film.