Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian
Cinematography by John Mathieson

Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling Ennio Coltorti as Ricci Giancarlo Giannini as Rinaldo Pazzi Robert Rieti as Sogliato Ray Liotta as Paul Krendler Francesca Neri as Laura Pazzi Bruno Lazzaretti as Dante Danielle De Niesse as Beatrice Alex Corrado as Piero Falcione Frankie Faison as Barney the Orderly Gary Oldman as Mason Verger (uncredited)

Running Time: 131 min.
Release Date: Feb. '01

Overall Call:
This one is hard not to draw comparisons on. Lets get them out of the way. No, of course it isn't as good as Silence of the Lambs. Yes, Julianne Moore is as good as Jodi Foster; she is just different. No, the film doesn't hold true to the book. There, that said try and enjoy the film. Amidst all the preshow hoopla this film inevitably faced I don't see how anyone actually watched it as a separate entity. I tried and really enjoyed it. Obviously it's not without its flaws and it almost had no chance of being as good as the first installment. Scott has crafted a visually stunning film and had me every step of the way. The film certainly took its time when in Florence and then just slammed pertinent information together when in the States. The relationship between Starling and Lecter did seem just a bit off. But I admit for the 2 1/2 hours I watched I was engrossed and entertained. All the performances were solid as expected. It was a strange thing that happened after seeing Lecter walking freely amongst everyone. It made him too human and took away a fair amount from the ominous feel he had all locked up in the first film. He also had a significantly larger amount of screen time which I'm sure contributed to the demystification of the role. As others seem to feel, there were things I'd have done different and would've liked to have seen more of, but the picture that Scott put together was engaging and fairly solid in its own right. All in all you won't get Silence of the Lambs, but who thought you would, what you are served though is very appetizing.

Reasons For Recommendation:
+ Visually stunning
+ Performances solid
+ Holds your attention