Silence of the Lambs could be one considered one of the most sophisticated, refined, and perfectly composed motion pictures of all time. It is scary but not a horror, filled with crime but not a crime movie, and action-packed but not an action flick. Thriller is the perfect genre for it, and Silence of the Lambs should be considered a perfect role model for other thrillers.

Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece takes you on a ride which makes you, for a time, completely forget about the real world. Set in 90’s Midwestern America, Doctor Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) is one of the most deranged killers behind bars, who has a fond taste for cannibalism, but at the same time is very intelligent and a former psychiatrist. He may be the only key to up-and-coming agent Clarice Starling’s chance at uncovering who this new serial killer “Buffalo Bill” is. Clarice Starling is played by Jodie Foster, a former Oscar winner in “The Accused.” The movie has Foster’s character visiting Dr. Lector at the criminal and mental institution he stays in. They exchange epic bouts of verbal jousting, making an audience members brain almost giddy with anticipation. As the movie progesses the genius of Dr. Lector is revealed and many twists accompany it.

Silence of the Lambs gives you a psychological and action-based thrill that would classify it as a page-turner, if the book was what we were watching. Anthony Hopkins’ acting as Hannibal Lector is not only flawless but ravenously enthralling. His performance was so epic that he won an Oscar for it, and rightly so. Jodie Foster was also brilliant and the development her character goes through throughout the movie is just fascinating. Normally when an actor plays an FBI role I automatically presume that the acting will be bland, lifeless, and almost boring to watch. Not so with Jodie Foster, who won her second Oscar playing Agent Clarice Starling.

The sound build-up, the camerawork, the acting, directing, and the brilliant script, tied together with a mid-sized budget of $22 million dollars brought about a movie destined to rock your world. Putting aside the 5 Oscars its won, thie movie deserves to be watched on the basis that it will suck you into the story and not let you out till the end, where you will be begging for more. Go buy it for DVD and turn your surround-sound on!

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