The Silence of the Lambs (52 Films in 52 Weeks)

Hannibal Lecter: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

The Story: Clarice Starling, an FBI agent in training, is given the task to interview Hannibal Lecter, to see if she can extract from his some information regarding the serial killer Bufallo Bill. A relationship develops between the two characters when Hannibal asks Clarice to give him details of her personal life in exchange for clues on Bufallo Bill.


Review: This movie is so engraved into popular culture and I've heard and read much about it that I felt like I knew everything about Silence of the Lambs without even watching it. But, thankfully, that wasn't the case. I really enjoyed every bit of it and was surprised by all the twist and turns that this awesome movie has.

Much has been said about the two main performances, Hopkins and Foster, and I thought they were every bit as good as everybody says they are. Hopkins is just terrifying with his calm poise, his emotionless expression, his quirky remarks and his voice. He just gave me the chills. Although I do have to admit that it really isn't a leading performance since the film is mainly about Buffalo Bill; Lecter is only the means by which the transvestite killer is found. But, as it happened with Whitaker this year, the performance is so powerful and good that it was considered lead. I really don’t have a problem with that, his Oscar was well deserved.


Jodie Foster is very good too. I loved how Clarice changes throughout the movie. At first she’s very vulnerable and scared but as the movie progresses she finds her inner strength and is able to confront her own demons (with Lecter’s help) and go after a very dangerous serial killer on her own. Foster has this special charm that helps the audience identify with her character. I also loved the fact that most of the movie is seen through Clarice’s eyes.

The music and cinematography really help to create the eerie mood of the film. The scene were Clarice goes into a dark warehouse is especially spooky and the final confrontation between Clarice and Buffalo Bill when everything goes dark is terrifying as well.

A-