Movie Review: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

If I were to name some of the greatest horror movies of all time, Silence of the Lambs would definitely be on that list. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 psychological thriller directed by Jonathan Demme. It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lectar, and Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill. So what is this movie's story? Why is it so famous for being good? The story runs like this, an FBI agent named Clarice Starling (Foster) has been asked to fill out a profile on Hannibal Lectar. He's this imprisoned cannibalistic psychologist (played by Anthony Hopkins). Clarice needs to interview him in order to: A) Try to get him to open up about his past B) to track down "Buffalo Bill". Clarice needs his help to track down this serial killer that they are calling Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). He's a transgender/transvestite, and he is trying to abduct women and remove their skin so he can become a woman in a woman suit. So already the plot is really deep, disturbing, and complex. What works about this movie are a bunch of things. The first is the relationship between Jodie Foster's character and Anthony Hopkins. The chemistry between these two is one of the best relationships that I have ever seen in a movie. The prisoner-detective relationship has been done a lot, but SOTL really captures that feeling. Which is usually sort of a cat and mouse game. Quid pro quo as Lectar himself likes to call it. The second thing that really works with this movie is the soundtrack. Now I am aware that most people don't compliment that soundtrack much. However, I think it's great because it rises with the story. When Clarice is in Ted Levine's characters house, the music rises and gets to it's loudest point in the climax. The music's climatic nature fits exactly with the way the story is going on screen. The last thing I'm going to mention is Buffalo Bill. Now whenever I watch Silence of the Lambs, I always feel like Hannibal is the anti-hero. It's as though he's the bad guy who is helping a good guy (or a girl). Buffalo Bill is downright freaky. I always say that he is one of the scariest characters I have ever seen in a movie. Not just that, but the way the film's sets work with his house, the contrast between the darkness of that pit. Everything works. The movie focuses on him as he kidnaps Catherine Martin who is the US senator's daughter. Anyway guys, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best movies I have ever seen and it offers a great story. Four stars.