Review of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by Nick B — 28 Oct 2014

Anthony Hopkins' performance as Hannibal Lector will go down in history as one of film's most outstanding performances ever. When watching this movie with a couple friends, we all noted that by the end of the movie we were almost cheering for Hannibal Lector during his escape and that we, for whatever reason, liked him. Sounds absurd, right? I mean, he's a monster! An animal! Or is he? Only a performance like this could make you root for somebody who's done such terrible things. Only a performance like this could allow you to get into the head of somebody like Hannibal Lector and think, "There's a reason behind what he does! There must be." And that is why Anthony's Hopkins acting performance as Hannibal Lector is, to this day, my favorite of all-time.

Beside Hopkins, this movie features a strong cast. Jodie Foster does well as Clarise, a young "detective in training," sent in to retrieve information from Dr. Hannibal Lector that can help them catch the newest serial killer on the block, Buffalo Bill. It takes a considerable amount of talent as an actress for Jodie Foster to stand in the ring with Hopkins and stand her ground. She manages to create an apparent bond between her character and Dr. Lector, something nearly impossible to do considering the fact that, well, he's supposed to be a monster, isn't he?

And lastly Ted Levine is stellar as Buffalo Bill. Remember how I talked about how Hopkins had the ability to make you like and feel for a horrible person? Well, Ted Levine is wonderful at doing the exact opposite. He really makes you hate Buffalo Bill, and I mean really! Hopkins made you believe that Lector had some respect and dignity in what he did, wether it be awful or not. But you get the sense from Levine that Buffalo Bill has no respect whatsoever. He is the worst of the worst, and you have got to hate him for that! He is truly an amazing villain actor, which makes the movie even more scary and even more shocking!

Besides acting and characters, this movie still holds up incredibly well. The screenplay is extremely well done. You are always fully engaged and enticed in the events of the movie, and it does a great job of translating from novel to film. The writing is excellent as well! Not only was Hopkins performance amazing, but what he was saying was too. His lines were riveting and really made you think and reanalyze things. Psychologically demanding, something I love to see in a movie if done properly - which they sure did here! Wonderful job!

My only gripe with the movie-and I'm really just nitpicking here-was that although there was a very well done twist at the end that puts you on the edge of your seat, the finale is somewhat predictable and a little bit unrealistic. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the way the biggest conflict in the story is solved is very abrupt and seems like too much of an easy fix. But considering everything this movie does right, it can be easily ignored at that point.

Overall, this is one of-if not the-best movies of all time, in my opinion. Great screenplay and acting performances make for memorable characters and moments, and a story that hooks you in right from the get go. And although there is a very surprising twist at the end, I do think there was somewhat of an "easy fix," too much so for my taste. But nonetheless, magnificent film, no doubt about it!

10/10.