Movie : Cape Fear

Max Cady gets out of prison and seeks out the attorney that suppressed evidence that led to his conviction. He has one thing in mind, to get payback for the time he served. Revenge is the focus.

Right from the opening sequence and the ominous soundtrack this film had me. Martin Scorsese’s remake does it for me. Love the way it’s shot with a nod to Hitchcock. Scorsese does not let up on the tension. He just keeps building it. You feel it escalating to a breaking point. He really does put you in the emotion of the story.

The cast is very good. Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Martin Balsam all return from the original to take roles. Joe Don Baker and Illeana Douglass give some very good support.

The Bowden family is perfectly cast. Juliette Lewis as Danielle is fantastic as the teenage daughter, bringing all sorts of layers to her character. Jessica Lange turns in a strong performance and is totally in the moment of every scene she’s in. Lots of sexual tension with these characters.. Nick Nolte as Sam Bowden gives more of his strong work. You really feel his world coming apart. The stress, the fear, guilt are all there but Nolte also gives us his reason for screwing Cady. He stands into it all.

Robert DeNiro is relentless in his performance. He doesn’t waver. He is one scary guy. CB was just glad he wasn’t after him. His Cady is violent and relentless. He is one badass.

So many strong scenes. The actors really engage and are present in the circumstances. One of the reasons I liked this film so much.

Cape Fear was written by John D MacDonald ( A CB fave). Lots of suspense and tension galore. The film is creepy good. Bordering on a full out horror flick. It might go a little over the top at the end but it works for me and is well shot. Oh yeah there’s a great cigar scene in the film.

“Do you believe that annoying loser guy”