Review: Cape Fear

The Amblin Entertainment film, Cape Fear, opened on this date in 1991. The film starred Robert DeNiro and Nick Nolte. Cape Fear was directed by Martin Scorsese.Synopsis:

Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) has just finished serving a long prison sentence for a brutal rape and assault. As soon as he gets out of prison he begins to terrorize the lawyer, Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), who defended him all those years ago. Cady is convinced Bowden didn’t do everything in his power to get him a reduced sentence and he is determined to make Bowden’s family pay.

Positives:

• Cape Fear has you frightened for Bowden and his family for the entire runtime. Scorsese uses all of his filmmaking tricks to keep the audience consistently uneasy for the well being of every character on screen. The legendary director never slows the film down, and the rapid pace keeps you captivated.

• DeNiro gives one of his most brutal performances portraying the depraved Cady. Even when he is committing despicable acts on screen, DeNiro’s work keeps you interested in what he will do next. Every second he is on screen you fear for every character that is near him, and that has a lot to do with Deniro’s darkly unhinged performance.
• Cape Fear is a visceral experience and so many things click flawlessly. The music, locations and visuals all work perfectly with the script and tone. Scorsese and DeNiro deserve a lot of credit for making Cape Fear the cinematic achievement it is. But, the great thing about the picture is there are no weak links. Every department delivers top-notch work.

Negatives:

• Towards the third act of Cape Fear, Max Cady begins to become supernatural. The film almost becomes a parody of itself, but it barely escapes pushing how far Cady can go.
• A little bit more character development given to Sam Bowden and his family could have been useful. Most of their backstory comes from random pieces of dialog. A deeper examination of their past could have made the whole narrative stronger.

In Closing:

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest film directors ever and Cape Fear allows him to show the full range of his directing skills. Cape Fear moves fast and rarely slows down to let you catch your breath. Robert DeNiro gives one of his finest performances and truly disappears into the darkness of Max Cady. Cape Fear isn’t for everyone, but if you can stomach the subject matter, it is one of the most stylish thrillers of the past 30 years.

Rating: A