One of the All-Time Great Thrillers

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2011)

Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
**** (out of 4)
Intense masterpiece about an FBI trainee (Jodie Foster) who is tracking down a perverted serial killer and must receive help from Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector (Anthony Hopkins). THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a rare example of a film picking up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. It's a very rare thing for any film to do that but once you see this film it's easy to see why it was such a hit back in the day and why it hasn't lost a bit of its impact in the years since. I've always felt that the film was about as close to flawless as any film could get and it's strongest aspect is the brilliant performances mixed in with some of the greatest characters ever written. The film really is a mechanical workshop for how to build up suspense and beat the viewer over the head each step of the way. I've heard many people say they love the film but felt that it was just too intense for its own good, which I think is almost fair to say. Director Jonathan Demme does a masterful job at building all of this tension up and I really love how they pretty much try to make each and every scene something very creepy. This film has rightfully become legendary over the years and many of the best scenes contain some of the greatest suspense. The early scene where we first see Lector looking out at us. A wonderful sequence where Foster must crawl into a garage not knowing what she's going to find. There's a creepy autopsy sequence. Then, there's the famous scene with Lector inside the "new" jail cell and of course the perfect ending. The movie certainly doesn't throw in cheap humor to try and break the tension and instead it just continues to assault the viewer. The violence, while graphic at times, never takes away from what you're viewing and the film is so classy that it never falls into some sort of cheap exploitation flick. The performances really bring the characters to life and the way Foster and Hopkins play against one another has rightfully put them as some of the most memorable of all time. The way the two play their little chess match while trying to gather information from the other perfectly adds to the creepy atmosphere and you really do feel as if you're watching something very special. Scott Glenn is also very effective as Foster's mentor. Ted Levine plays the serial killer and I've always felt that he's the one who most often gets overlooked. There's no question that this film belongs to Hopkins and Foster but Levine is just so terrific in his part of Buffalo Bill that I've always been somewhat shocked that he doesn't get more attention. The tense music score, masterful cinematography and wonderful dark look just adds to what really is the perfect thriller. Since the release of this movie there have been many sequels, rip-offs and countless other films inspired by this one but nothing has come close to the perfection which is this movie. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a rare example of a blockbuster actually delivering the goods and it's clearly not only one of the best films of the decade but also one of the greatest ever made.