What's going down?
Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is an FBI agent tasked with investigating a series of murders committed by a killer known only as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To aid in the investigation, she interviews convicted murderer and psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who masterfully manipulates people and events, escape always at the front of his mind.
Who's in it?
Jodie Foster has one of the greatest female leads of all time as Clarice Starling, investigating and interviewing her way to finding Buffalo Bill. Then, of course, we have Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, creating one of the best villains (if not best characters, period) in film history. His performance is subtle, terrifying, and intelligent at once - from the moment he appears on screen, we get the sense that he, insane as he may be, could take control of the situation at any moment. His interactions with Foster show that horror doesn't need blood and violence to be effective (although there's plenty of that as well). The film's other villain, Ted Levine in the role of Buffalo Bill, isn't talked about nearly as much, but nonetheless pulls off an unforgettably creepy turn as the embodiment of sexual confusion gone horribly, psychotically out of control.
How's the production?
Jonathan Demme leads the production with an eye for spine-chilling suspense. The sequences of Lecter and Starling consist of little other than close-ups of their faces, but nothing else is needed - Lecter's terrifying stare is enough to make the viewers back away. Demme manages to blend several genres into a cohesive whole - the film is at once a police drama, a psychological thriller, and a horror film. Ted Tally is responsible for the fascinating dialogue between Starling and Lecter, as well as Buffalo Bill's psychotic banter ("it rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again").
The greatest scene:
Hannibal Lecter's escape. The scene is almost a movie on its own, and everything Lecter does, from disposing of his guards to setting up gruesome distractions for the SWAT teams to his unforgettably shocking method of escape only adds to the character's mystique and terror.
Personal impressions:
It takes a lot for a film to scare me, but this one manages the rare feat. Hannibal Lecter presents us with quiet possibly the most terrifying human being imaginable - a man who wants to kill and eat you who can also learn everything he needs to know about you in five minutes. Ted Levine's performance, while overshadowed by Hopkins', deserves mention for being almost equally terrifying, although in a more conventionally psychotic way.
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