The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) Dir: Jonathon Demme
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Jonathon Demme's 1991 crime thriller is not only one of my all-time favourite horrors, but one of my all-time favourite films. It was based on the novel by Thomas Harris, and is a perfect example of building suspense, whilst telling a very smart, very thrilling narrative.
The first thing I must say, is that the screenplay, written by Ted Tally, is one of the best written in cinema history. The way it builds suspense, shocks its audience and gradually unfurls its mysteries is unrivalled. It must be one of the best adapted screenplays ever to find its way to the screen.
The way Howard Shore's score compliments the film and informs its audience is masterful. It builds tension and horror in the audience, while not overpowering or overbearing on the rest of the film. The soundtrack is brilliant, it juxtaposes its dramatic highs with its sinister lows marvellously.
The direction of Demme cannot go uncredited either. His use of close-ups throughout the film was genius. It emphasises the personal, intimate and uncomfortable nature of those scenes, and allows the audience's focus to hone in on the facial expressions of the characters.
Some superb pacing, accompanied by a few very well-shot set pieces, make this film an intense but easy watch. The two hour runtime flies by. The psychological tone, as well as the eerie, atmosphere feel of the story, is hard not to appreciate.
Jodie Foster was brilliantly measured, yet sincere in her performance. She was able to engineer empathy with the audience with ease, often through just her eyes. I think she had brilliant chemistry with her co-star, who I will get to in a moment, which allowed her character to feel like a strong and worthy protagonist for one of cinema's scariest antagonists.
Anthony Hopkins gives one of my favourite performances from any actor in any film ever. He was sinister, chilling and encapsulated the character's vast intellect and unpredictable nature perfectly. His performance won him a very deserving Oscar, and you would be hard-pressed to find a more deserving winner. His scenes with Foster are among the best one-to-one interactions you will ever see on-screen.
Ted Levine deserves special credit for his fascinating portrayal of a serial killer, which doesn't get spoken about enough, partly due to the tour de force performances of the two names above. The film also saw some pretty good performances from a number of the supporting cast members. In particular; Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Kasi Lemmons and Brooke Smith.
Overall, rewatching this film reminded me just how much I love it. The relationship between the two main characters, and how their interactions form the narrative is just brilliant. Themes of fear, isolation and morality are expertly woven into the film, which helps in making this one of the most suspenseful and well-made thrillers, and an all-time great piece of horror.
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