Second Viewing: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

It’s difficult to say exactly why this film is so good. Because obviously it is. The acting is fantastic, sure. But I’d argue the story is a bit unfocused. Things get going really quickly into Buffalo Bill plot, except we know so little about the whole thing.

But it almost seems like none of that matters when we have that amazing first scene with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling.

It’s so perfectly acted by both Hopkins and Foster, and it just has this really creepy tone that’s accomplished through unsettling and atypical cinematography.

All of the scenes between these two are great, but none of the subsequent ones outdo this first one.

In general, whenever Hopkins is on screen, the movie is just on fire. Except this is also a bit where the movie is unfocused. We get a lengthy (and very good) escape scene.

But at this point, the story very clearly isn’t about Lecter. It’s kind of weird. The plot just stops to have this amazing, exciting, and creepy scene. And then it proceeds shortly afterward, with Starling’s confrontation with Buffalo Bill, who is of course a fantastic and underrated villain.

The climax is a bit generic horror/thriller, but it’s really well done. Foster’s acting in the night vision sequence is unbelievably good.

I mean it’s a fantastic movie. I don’t have too much more to say about it. It works in some ways it probably shouldn’t.

Rating: 9/10