Cape Fear
A Film Review by Joe Gayeski
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http://www.andersonvision.com/Cape_Fear_1991.html

United States, 1991
U.S. Release Date: 11/13/91
Running Length: 128 min.
MPAA Classification: R
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Robert DeNiro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Fred Dalton Thompson and Gregory Peck
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: James R. Webb and Wesley Strick
Cinematography: Freddie Francis
Original Score: Elmer Bernstein
Studio: Univesal Pictures

In return for sticking by during and after production of his legendary troubled film “The Last Temptation of Christ,” Universal Pictures expected filmmaker Martin Scorsese to “repay” the favor by helming a commercial feature for the studio. After making his masterpiece film “Goodfellas” for Warner Bros., Scorsese then proceeded to replace Steven Spielberg at the helm of the remake of the 1962 film-noir movie “Cape Fear”.

Scorsese then proceeded, in his own words, to attempt to bring back the atmospheric and sharply effective thrills of the film-noir genre for the 1990s, with a chance to explore and push the boundaries of what is acceptable to show content-wise to the American public. Does the living Grand Master of North American Cinema succeed?

For the most part, he is successful in crafting a pretty good thriller that at times feels like of sorts the long-lost “horror” film from Scorsese’s career, and actually pulls off a rare trick in cinema. That is, his remake is actually superior to the original film itself.

Sure fans of the original do have a point in their argument that that natural visual sense of dread and feeling of claustrophobia is lost when going to color from black & white. However, the remake is itself more horrifying in how unlike Robert Mitchum, Robert DeNiro was allowed to have more freedom to be explicit in his characterization of the villain, who’s presence is felt, by both protagonists and audiences, from the beginning to the very end of the credits (more on that later).

In this domineering performance for which gained him so far his last acting Oscar nomination, DeNiro goes out to be the ultimate nightmare for our protagonists to tangle with not only in terms of being a non-stop humanistic shark that is always circling the waters and apparently almost superhuman in how he takes pain. No, he’s the worst nightmare for city slickers or Yankees or folks out in California: A resourceful hick from the hellish swamps of the south.

Do not let my film rating fool you, for “Cape Fear” is crafted by Scorsese and his crew as a very conventional thriller in terms of premise and psychological manipulation that we have always expected from Hollywood, but with the personal touches by Scorsese and DeNiro. Thing is, perhaps Scorsese was too successful at this front. Then again, despite my self-admitting arrogant state in how I judge films, including ripping to shreds several so-called “popcorn films” that used such a term in order to excuse for the fact that they suck. I’m looking at you, Michael Bay. Anyway, I am for “popcorn films” when they are actually good, and for what “Cape Fear” tries to score as, that is as an enjoyable commercial “popcorn” thriller, and it works. Apparently, I’m not the only one. Until “The Aviator,” this was Martin Scorsese’s biggest moneymaking movie, though not counting budget-profit ratio, for which on that aspect, this is still Scorsese’s biggest moneymaker.

So why does “Cape Fear” excel despite its genre-trappings? There are many reasons, but perhaps it’s because the plot itself is very much a penetrating story of concern. Basically we have convicted rapist and murderer Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) leaving prison after 14 years, with only one desire in his mind: pure revenge of pain and torture towards his defense attorney (Nick Nolte) that broke his oath of ethics by burying evidence that could have acquitted Cady. Cady stalks the family around their house and about the town, while using his knowledge of the law to stay legal. In fact, Cady is able to slap a restraining order against his subject of prey after Nolte hired some goons who try to rough Cady up, the key word being “try”.

However, the film intensifies when Cady discovers how dysfunctional this nuclear family unit really is, with the lawyer’s wife (Jessica Lange) unsatisfied with her love life and quite angry that her husband committed infidelity, and their daughter (Juliette Lewis) as a naïve pot-head, who’s desire for “bad boys” leads Cady to attempt to divide this family up…and then conquer in his sadistic ways. This reason is another why the remake is superior to the original, since the 1962 version had your clean-cut and quite boring American family having to deal with the absolutely evil baddie, but with the remake, even we the audience, while not excusing his actions, do sort of feel bad for Cady that yes, he got screwed over by his own attorney. We understand why Nolte’s character did such a vigilante action, and see as it comes back to haunt him. This is helped by Hermann’s terrific use of trumpets in the score from the original film, which was so great that Scorsese simply had Elmer Bernstein re-use it for the remake, much like Gus Van Sant would with his much wrongly-maligned “Psycho” remake (which ironically, its iconic score was composed by Hermann as well).

One idea in Scorsese’s “Cape Fear” that is virtually interesting is how it is book-ended by Lewis’ character, of which the whole purpose I believe is to show that unlike most Hollywood movies where our protagonists triumph over their antagonists and live happily ever after, those same heroes will for the rest of their mortal days be mentally tainted by what happened, even as the villain itself is assuredly destroyed, which leads to an interesting sequence that most folks apparently don’t realize. Until a friend of mine pointed it out, I was quite unaware of it as well. Watch through the credits until the tail end, when distant screams of women are heard. Like the protagonists themselves, audiences that see “Cape Fear” will never forget Max Cady, for with our memories, he is still out there somewhere in the depths of the abyss that we call our brains.

Film Rating: ***/5

© 2006 Joe Gayeski

Excellent review

I do consider this film to be DeNiro's best performance, playing the most against his type. And Scorsese can really be felt throughout the piece. I'm due for a rewatch.

Thanks Hagen for your very nice words.

Funny enough, Scorsese's original choice for the tormented lawyer hero was Harrison Ford, and even DeNiro tried his best to convince Ford. Thing is, that would have been cool, with Ford doing his dulled yet over-the-top acting intensity against DeNiro being DeNiro...but oh well, Ford's a dick. What ya gonna do?

Better yet, you know who Spielberg had casted for that same part when he was set to direct the remake? Kevin Kline.

I only saw the last part of this. The thing that I noted most, was what a terrific actor De Niro is. He can really play a diversity of roles. Okay, just like in most other movies, he plays a fu**ing son of a bitch, but this time... I don't know, it was so ... different.

Nice job, ronnie.

Maybe one day you actually will be a member of that rarest of breeds - a writer who actually makes money at his craft.

Some nice observations in there, too, BTW.

I like how you pointed out the way the Peck/Nolte family was portaryed so darkly in the remake, as opposed to the white bread TV-like "Leave it to Beaver" family in the original.

That never would have occured to me which, again, is why I don't try to write film reviews.

Keep up the good work, and I'll keep heaping on what all writers and would-be writers need: Healthy doses of praise.

I appreciate that nice post, Plawrence...and someday, someday...I'll make more money off sharing my insight instead of making fucking ketchup pies(aka PIZZA HUT)!

I too hope i'll be able to make money writing one day, although npt as a reviewer. I really don't understand how you could want to constantly critique and examine other's work without wanting to create your own. Ever get any creative urges?

Of course....hell, I've been trying to figure out how to work out my basic film ideas of mine.

On November 21, 2023, a television adaptation of Cape Fear was announced, with several networks in a bidding war to air it. Spielberg and Scorsese are signed on as executive producers while the showrunner is Nick Antosca. The series will be released on Apple TV+. On November 18, 2024, it was revealed that Javier Bardem was cast as Max Cady.