Nice movie

[movie]

Can any movie-goer recommend any nice current movies that's worth watching? I haven't been to the cinema for donkey years and catching a good movie may be nice.

[trina01]

Try the Italian film on 24 May at Alliance Francaise. Refer to the thread on Events, Gatherings.

[s]

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is one of the most taut, suspenseful, psychological thrillers ever produced. Director Jonathan Demme's superbly-crafted, harrowing film is dark, moody, somber, and truly frightening, yet exhilarating.

The most compelling part of the film is in the developing dynamics of their participation in a cat-and-mouse battle of nerves, and the many chilling, spell binding discussions in four scenes between them. Their relationship dances and alternates back and forth between psychopath/aspiring female agent, deranged psychologist/therapeutic patient, and father/daughter.

Sweeping all five major Academy Awards ("Oscars" for Best Movie, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay) is quite an accomplishment. Doing it nearly a year after a film was released is a miracle considering the notoriously short attention span of Oscar voters.

It is a powerful example of how great a movie can be when superb writers, directors, actors, and others work at the top of their craft.

`Silence of the Lambs' is the story of a young FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is summoned to help find one serial killer called `Buffalo Bill.' by interviewing another. Foster's performance is absolutely brilliant.

While Anthony Hopkins receives most of the (well-deserved) praise for his chilling portrayal of incarcerated serial killer `Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lector', it is Foster's performance that holds the movie together. The fear she shows just behind her eyes makes Clarice's outward courage all the more interesting and vulnerable.

This is the perfect way to play the part because it explains Lector's interest in Clarice. Her only bargaining chip in getting Lector's help is to let him `feed' on her innermost secrets and fears in exchange for his brilliant insights into the psychotic mind. The title of the movie comes from these exchanges and is very poignant.

Director Jonathan Demme is masterful. There is one scene late in the movie that I will not spoil. It is one of the most simply brilliant scenes ever staged in a movie.

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[dolby]

Saw that last night. I enjoyed it, although my colleagues thought it was too slow.