The Silence of the Lambs -- 1991 -- R

Ah, the timeless story of love and friendship of two people from different worlds that surpasses not only the age factor, but even the plexiglass divider that keeps him from eating his capters... Ok, so that's a little warped, but not entirely inaccurate about one of the character plots of this classic flick that took several Oscars in 91, including Best Picture.

The actual plot involves Clarice Starling as a wet-behind-the-ears FBI newbie with degrees in psychology and criminology (sweet combination, I might add) who is charged by an FBI superior to talk to the notorious killer psychiatrist, Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lector. Their aim is to see if Lector would help them in tracking down a current killer that has been dubbed "Buffalo Bill" who recently kidnapped a senator's daughter -- you know, if you're related to someone powerful, you get priority in investigations...

Anyway, Lector and Clarice develop an interesting relationship where he respects her, and she lets her guard down with them. This relationship is actually the focus of the film as opposed to the Buffalo Bill side, which is just a track to roll their relationship on. This made the film work a whole lot better than it would have if the investigation was the centerpiece. It also filled out their characters aand made them both very real during the course of the film. She maintained her relative innocence (though a bit wiser for the wear), and he was nothing short of disturbing and a bit frightening as one who had no qualms about doing anything to anyone.

Of course, we did have this whole Buffalo Bill plot where some freak was kidnapping girls, slicing bits of their skin off, and then dumping the bodies. The full brunt of this storyline is as disturbing as Lector's character when you know everything about it. I'll leave the mystery intact if you're one of those people who has missed it thus far.

This was a film well deserving of its Oscar. It's a very good watch with an intriguing storyline and some great characters. Not one of those waste of time films.