There are few psychological thrillers that have garnered as much acclaim as The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Gaining rave reviews from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences down to average movie goers who ahve seen this movie in the 20 years that it has been released.
That being said, I had the pleasure of enjoying this movie, joining those masses, for the first time. Fromt he very beginning of the movie, you know Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster fourteen years after inspiring a man to try and kill Reagan) is not your typical female protagonist, instead of seeing her due her hair or prepare breakfast we see her for the first time as she completes a FBI training obstacle course. I was immediately intrigued by this new role of a woman in a movie with a serial killer.
But more on that later, for first I must discuss the movie as a whole before discussing it's parts, and boy is there a lot to discuss. I shall begin with the script a great place to start when discussing any movie. Primarily the moments (all 16 minutes worth of screen time [Yeah, Hannibal Lecter is only on screen for 16 minutes]). The script is sharper than Buffalo Bills blades, cutting with an intensity rarely seen. The movie's source was that of Ed Gein, the Wisconsin madman who made a three piece suit out of female flesh, as well as decorating his home with their bones, tne M.O. of Gein also inspired (albeit loosely) Psycho (1960) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The similarities with both those movies ends there, as this is a whole new level of fictionalization here, mainly that of the plot. I think that for this movie's script to not walk off with that golden effigy of a man and a sword, would have been the all time Oscar snub.
Next comes the direction from Jonathan Demme. Demme may have created some of the best "across the table" showdown scenes of all time when he filmed the scenes with Starling and Lecter, true cinematic genius. Furthermore, there are all the great scenes in Buffalo Bill's lair, and so on and so forth. The pacing is tremendous, the movie clocks in at just under two hours, yet it seems to move faster than some movies 2/3rds that length, easily making Demme worth his Oscar.
Speaking of Oscars, how about I discuss the other two people to win Oscars for this movie: Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, and did they earn them. Foster is truly stunning as Starling, she balances the tough facade and the innocent girl buried beneath it. Both fierce and timid, Foster earns her Oscar again and again with every line and every scene. And the same goes for Hopkins, despite his aforementioned lack of screen time. My only problem with this movie is Hopkins "physicality." He nails the part of psychotic intellectual with an unrivaled fervor, and yet they present Hannibal Lecter as able to over power larger and stronger police officers, as well and raising a body and supporting it from the ceiling all by himself. I don't find it hard to believe a man could do that, I find it hard to believe THAT man did it. That minor transgression aside I can't think of anyone I would have rather played Dr. Lecter.
This movie is probably as close to being the perfect psychological thriller as one can imagine: smart, frightening, and insanely well made The Silence of the Lambs delivers on every aspect.
Dr. Brooklyn says: LIKE this movie (10/10)
I might make this a recurring theme when I watch movies with parodies... but here's something a little lighter.
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