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1991
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THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
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STARRING:JODIE
FOSTER,ANTHONY HOPKINS,SCOTT GLENN,TED LEVINE, ANTHONY HEALD,KASI
LEMMONS,BROOKE SMITH,FRANKIE FAISON
BASED
ON THE NOVEL BY THOMAS HARRIS
SCREENPLAY
BY TED TALLY
PRODUCED
BY RON BOZMAN,EDWARD SAXON & KENNETH UTT
DIRECTED
BY JONATHAN DEMME
GENRE:CRIME/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:MA/UK:18/USA:R
RUNNING
TIME:118 MIN
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Taking
the flagging serial killer thriller genre and turning it on its head,
The Silence of the Lambs is a much darker, sinister and intelligent
film than any of its kind before it. Featuring great direction by
Jonathan Demme and an excellent screenplay by Ted Tally (based on
Thomas Harris' best selling crime novel), Silence… tells
the story of Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a trainee FBI agent
who is asked by senior agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) to interview
infamous psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal "The Cannibal"
Lector (Anthony Hopkins) in hopes that he will shed light on the identity
and whereabouts of at large serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).
Taking a liking to Starling, Lector develops a relationship with the
inexperienced field agent getting inside of her head whilst Starling
tries to draw out information from him. When a high ranking Senator's
daughter is abducted by Buffalo Bill, Starling is caught in a race
against time to save her using the information provided by Lector.
Silence… is a disturbing, tense and suspenseful watch
which does not shy away in its depiction of violence and use of gore.
It is not a horror film that tries to scare with an overuse of violence,
but is a well written crime thriller that contains a chilling, creepy
edge throughout. The now infamous walk down the corridor towards Lectors
cell is an eerie scene full of dread and trepidation, the kind of
thing that nightmares are made of.
Jodie Foster gives a career best performance as the intelligent, tough
and yet at times vulnerable FBI agent who is stuck within a world
where men constantly belittle and hit on her. Anthony Hopkins too
gives a career best performance, in the process creating one of the
greatest all time screen-villains who is equal parts highly intelligent,
charming and insane. One of the best under actors of all time, Hopkins
quietly and deftly transforms himself into one of the best devilish
forms of monstrosity to hit the big screen.
The chemistry between both actors is off the wall. At its core, Silence…
is about the twisted relationship that develops between these two
characters throughout the film. And although Hopkins has worked with
other actors of high esteem throughout the Hannibal Lector series,
none have come close to matching what he and Foster had. Ted Levine
is very good as is Anthony Heald as the weasel like Dr. Chilton.
Since it is such an influential movie, there have been many sequels
and copy cats, but perhaps with the exception of David Fincher's 1995
seminal classic Se7en has Silence of the Lambs
ever been bettered. |
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