"Silence of the Lambs" Review

Some people only enjoy movies about fluffy puppies that run around and get into trouble, if you are one of those people do not and I repeat DO NOT see Silence of the Lambs. This movie is quite the opposite. If you enjoy a good movie about a psychopathic killer, a story that will involve the mind, and will shake you to your core this movie is a must see! I myself fall under the psychopathic killer rampage enjoying category.
The story begins with the F.B.I. trying to stop the notorious "Buffalo Bill" killer. He is a crazy man who shoots and then skins the women he captures. Thinking that it takes one to know one they seek the help of a jailed cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter(Anthony Hopkins). They send every one of their top agents to talk to him only to send in student Clarice Starling(Jodie Foster) as a last resort. Clarice is sent to get clues on how to solve the crime from Dr. Lecter. Upon meeting Clarice Hannibal develops a morbid fascination with Clarice's personal life, and the only way Hannibal divulges information to her is by her telling him all he wants to know about her. The hopes of the F.B.I. is to only get exactly what they want which is to catch "Buffalo Bill", but unintentionally Dr. Lecter gets exactly what he wants.
The acting in this movie is sensational! The high quality really makes an impact on the film. Anthony Hopkins really delivers. He is so into his character that even you are afraid of him. His character has a way of taking everything in, but letting nothing out. The only emotions you can detect are deep desire, and utter satisfaction. It takes a real pro and a man of great intelligence to put himself in the mind of a psychopath, where even scientists have trouble getting in. Jodie Foster was also really good. I don't usually like her much, but she was amazing in this movie. Clarice is a trainee F.B.I agent, who is a bright student and shows promise, but is also a little green. She really shows this when during her first interview with Dr. Lecter. He looks deep into her mind and brings up insecurities within herself. It is obvious that she is bothered by what he said, but she tries to keep her cool. Even when trying to stay calm Clarice is shaking and is very flustered. The whole act is very convincing. You really believe that she is an inexperienced but none the less talented agent.
Other aspects of the film worth mentioning are the cinematic aspects. I noticed that during the two flash back sequences of the film they flashed back and fourth from Clarice in real life to the memory she is remembering. I think the director Jonathan Demme did this for the audience to make connections between the event remembered, and the recent events in the film. I think the reason he flip-flopped between the two events, rather than just cutting right to the flash back was to ensure that the audience drew connections. During the film there were also many close ups. There was a close up on a decaying head in the beginning, and that was used to show that the head was going to be discussed later on and the significance made clear. There were also many closeups on the character's faces. The reason for that I think was to put emphasis on what the character was feeling, and that their faces were what really gave those feelings away. It seemed to me that the movie had quite a few low-angle shots. They were generally used to show the power of the individual, but it was done very well. It got the point across without being too obvious.
I really liked the dramatic aspects as well. I noticed was that there was a lot of low-key lighting. The lighting seemed to be used to make the film seem more sinister and dark. There was high-key lighting as well. It was sometimes used to give a calming effect, but also simply used to light up a scene. I find it amazing that lighting can have so much of an effect. The creators of this movie did it just right.
This movie really hit me the right way. You can get an idea of the impact a single aspect of film has on this movie to make it amazing, but it is really everything put together that makes this film such a terrifying treat. This film had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and because of this film I now must see the other films in the series. I give The Silence of the Lambs two thumbs way way up.