Review of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by Victor T — 11 Aug 2014

Until 1991, only two films had the honor of wining the big five categories of the Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay): 1934"It Happened One Night" and 1975 "One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest". But then appeared a film that managed to become the third movie to achieve this huge honor and to introduce moviegoers to one of the best characters and villains of all time, Hannibal Lecter; I´m talking about "The Silence of the Lambs".

FBI trainee Clarice Starling is tasked to get information about pursued serial killer "Buffalo Bill" from an incarcerated psychiatrist and cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter. Clarice thinks she will complete the task with ease but soon she realizes that playing with Lecter is a game where she will most likely lose.

Having already tried and failed to bring the character of Hannibal Lecter to the big screen with Michael Mann´s "Manhunter", Jonathan Demme managed to make this book character to one of the greatest villains of all time with this phenomenal film. "The Silence of the Lambs" is one of those few films that has everything: Phenomenal acting with the greatest being, obviously, Anthony Hopkins that despite he counts with few screen time, he gave one of the best performances I´ve ever seen, that became his career defining role; great chemistry between the lead actors, outstanding direction, fantastic characters that count with phenomenal relationships, a subtle but good score, memorable and chilling scenes, some striking imagery, a well done atmosphere, an appropriate pace, memorable quotes and a clever and engaging story that counts with a complex physiological character study. My only complaint is that the film is a little unbalanced, it counts with a fantastic and mesmerizing first half but a weaker and inconsistent second half.

Despite the fact that "The Silence of the Lambs" does everything right, what transcended the most was its fantastic acting and characters that will remain as iconic as they are now for years to come. Jonathan Demme can boast about making one of the only three films to win the big five categories of the Academy Awards and undeniably one of the best horror films ever made, while some consider it the best I consider it my runner-up. It deserves its colossal reputation and every award it won, a must see film.