Cape Fear (1991) Review

https://youtu.be/mPsOIhZJug4?si=kxgEqY_J8eO0cOl_

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

There is nothing scarier than revenge waiting for you. You don’t think so? Look at Cape Fear. 


PLOT


Based on John D MacDonald’s novel ‘The Executioners’, first adapted in 1962, the 1991 film follows psychotic rapist Maximilian Cady be released of a 14 year sentence having raped a 16 year old girl. He vows to go after his attorney Samuel Bowden who was so appalled of his past crimes that he hid a police report that the girl he attacked was promiscuous, which could have led to him being acquitted; Bowden did this assuming Cady was illiterate at the time. Sam now lives in New Essex with his wife Leigh and teenage daughter Danielle, where he has now gone into private practice. When Cady tracks him down, he reveals that he learned how to read in prison and attempted unsuccessful appeals in representing himself, implying he knows what he did. Turning down being paid off, he starts terrorizing the Bowden family by poisoning their dog but there is no proof of him breaking into the house. He even taunts him in the middle of a parade. When he targets courthouse clerk Lori Davis, she refuses Sam’s pleas to report him because he knows of her flirtations towards him. Sam goes to private investigator Claude Keserk to follow Cady discreetly, but he ends up confronting him. He then impersonates Dani’s drama teacher to approach her and seduce her with a kiss. When her parents find out about this, Sam takes Kersek’s advice to have men drag him out of town and beat him up. He only does it after he threatens to harm him himself. Cady would defend himself against the personal muggers, but would exaggerate his injuries and use a recording against Sam to get a restraining order. The situation causes a petition for Sam to be disbarred, where an emergency meeting will be held in Raleigh. While away, Kersek fakes his departure to trap him, but it backfires when he sneaks in disguised as the housekeeper Graciela (Zully Monterey), killing them both with a piano wire. Afraid, the family tries hiding in their old houseboat down the Cape Fear River. Little would they expect Cady would stow way strapping himself to the car’s undercarriage before sneaking onto the boat. When subduing Sam, he severs the rope anchoring the boat and tries to rape both Leigh & Dani. Thankfully, the latter is able to prevent that from happening by spraying lighter fluid onto his cigar that gets him on fire. He jumps off the boat temporarily as Sam tries steering the boat back to safety, and then re-emerges with Kersek’s gun. As he holds him at gunpoint, he holds a mock trial for Sam to admit he hid the report. As he intends to extract revenge, the storm knocks him off his feet. When the girls reach shore, Sam is able to end the conflict for good by cuffing him to the boat before bashing his head with a rock. As he sinks with the boat, Max would give one last glare and sing “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand”. As Sam reunites with his family, the film would end with Dani narrating that her family never spoke of this ordeal to one another after time had passed.


THOUGHTS


Everyone was wondering what the hell was Martin Scorsese gonna do next after peaking with Goodfellas. Little did the world he’d remake a psychological thriller that instantly surpasses the original from the get go. It was cool that Bernard Herrmann’s score from the 60s being reused because it was an example of timeless tension that is inflicted. Adding Freddie Francis’ cinematography with Thelma Schoommaker’s editing, you just feel consistent dread that comes from inevitable conflict that will shock you forever. One of the scariest situations anyone can be is inflicting justice on a perpetrator only for karma to clap back, which is why every second that passes is just shocking for it to go as far as it does. What I think this adaptation does strongly from what had been done before is that writer Wesley Strick is able to teach audiences that there is no escape of whatever kind of guilt and there will always be cost of sins you try to hide. This is the dynamic of Sam Bowden & Max Cady because you know who’s right & wrong but you still have to admit there are consequences in taking matters into your own hands. Nick Nolte holds his own as the former, previously played by Gregory Peck who portrays Cady’s new lawyer here, because even though he loves his family, his flaws in being unfaithful and professionally compromised that makes him vulnerable, paving the way for his loved ones to be the same. You respect him for wanting to put Max away for good, knowing he wasn’t gonna stop hurting people, but I do think he should’ve anticipated Cady would want revenge no matter how far he’d be away from him. He does defeat him, but the damage is done by the one guy he should’ve not crossed. Enter Robert DeNiro who scores his acting Oscar nomination as arguably the most diabolical character he had ever played. Previously played by Robert Mitchum who plays Lieutenant Elgart here, what makes Cady so scary is how intelligent he is for the wrong reasons. It is one thing to get even with someone that wronged you, but him going after the one who predicted you weren’t gonna change is where he’s most monstrous. He knows the pain he’s caused and doesn’t care one bit, especially when he feels unfazed sharing his wife and daughter cut ties with him when he was behind bars. He enjoys the distress he causes and it’s shown every-time he drives the Bowdens miserable. I’m definitely sure he had to copy Sam’s keys to sneak in the house and kill the dog, hence touching them, which is what Sam must have predicted, but the most unsettling goes to him targeting Dani whose the same age as the last girl he harmed. It’s because of moments like this where you get why Sam felt the need to break rules for the greater good. Breakout Juliette Lewis is incredible as Dani because she’s at the age of where her curiosity does the thinking, unaware of what her dad did when she was only a baby at the time and ultimately becomes a victim of his vigilantism because meeting Cady took away her innocence as it did her mom. Thankfully, she was smart enough to think fast when burning him. Had she not done that, Cady would’ve not ran on adrenaline to the point of her dad also using surroundings as an advantage. Jessica Lange is still a standout because although she started out oblivious to what her husband had done, which made her feel trapped emotionally, she was still just as resilient if not more when the stakes got higher. My heart sank that she was willing to sacrifice her body to protect her daughter because that’s a decision that cannot be undone. Then again, it also moves me how far unconditional love from a parent will be in stressful times. This family really had a chain reaction of teamwork because had not Leigh with the offer of her sacrifice, Dani would’ve not gotten the lighter fluid that gave Sam time for the final blow. Even though the memory of Cady never went away from their minds, they can still try to rest peacefully knowing there will never be another threat on par to match the mark they left behind. Lastly, I got to give a shoutout to Joe Don Baker as Kersek because even though his assistance came with a price, he did care for the Bowdens. He knew he had to play fire with fire when it came to people as bad as Cady and it’s a shame he didn’t get to live to see him meet his demise. In short, 1991’s Cape Fear is a stellar remake that knew how to change the scenery enough in order to raise the bar in intensity. If those are the kind of stories that compel you, see this now.