Cape Fear (1991)

 

Usually, I don't care too much for remakes or reboots. Most of the time, they just seem to either dilute the strength of the original or try too hard at becoming another beast entirely, thus missing the point. This however, is one of the good remakes. You can tell director Martin Scorsese is very familiar with the original and he captures the spirit in excellent fashion, whilst upping the stakes on everything else.

I applaud you, sir. 

Sam Bowden is a pretty high class lawyer with a wife and daughter. Things seem to be going well for them, but there are tensions in the household as Sam has been unfaithful before, so the family moved to a new town in order to start over, but the old wounds are still sore. His wife is a little on the artistically nervous side of things and smokes more than the exhaust of a cruiseship and their 15-year-old daughter is feeling a bit rebellious, as she has many questions concerning sexuality and her parents always brush her off. And she is under probation in school for smoking pot once. 

Into all of this waltzes Max Cady, a man convicted to 14 years in prison on account of rape and battery. But Max is not a happy camper. See, back in the day, Bowden defended him, but because Cady was then an illiterate arsehat, Bowden didn't do his best to defend him, which caused the prison sentence in the first place. Nevermind that Cady was guilty, as laywers have to defend their clients to the best of their abilities. So Max is miffed and plots to have his revenge on Bowden and his family. 

He starts off subtle, just cruising by and occasionally talking to the Bowdens, but things start taking a turn for the sinister when he kills their dog and ups the harassment, even if no one can actually pin anything on him. 

That is probably the scariest part: you can't really take care of a stalker as long as they don't actually do anything besides harass you. This part of the film is eerily accurate and disconcerting. Cady's tactics fragment and shatter an already unstable family situation, after which he shifts into higher gears which all culminates in a final sequence on a river. 

This film does a wonderful job of ramping up the tension. You will feel uncomfortable right off the bat and the best part is you know right from the start that Cady is a psychopath bent on destruction, but they keep his insane things in the bag until the end. It is this unease and the slow degradation of Sam Bowden's sanity that drives this film and it is expertly done. But even though all the actors across the board are very, very good, this will always be Robert DeNiro's film. DeNiro delivers an extremely memorable performance as Max Cady. The look (the flashy shirts), the speech patterns (this sort of nasty Southern drawl), the ominous tattoos: DeNiro once again brings his most intense tricks to the fore and that makes Cady one of those classic film villains. Sure, he does go overboard at the end and unfortunately, that part of the film is a little silly, but for the most part it feels all too real and sinister. 

Also props to Juliette Lewis as Dani Bowden, the daughter. Usually I can't really stomach her, which is in no way a comment on her acting chops. I just don't like her, but I will say she is an excellent actress and she proves it here. Heck, check the scene between her and DeNiro in the school theatre and tell me that stuff isn't as intense as something very intense. She does a pretty perfect job. 

It does go off the rails near the end, but 'Cape Fear' is an excellent thriller that succeeds in building tension to the point where you can almost not bear it anymore. It might not be the best known work in Scorsese's extensive library, as it feels a little out of the box for him, but it is absolutely a must-see. 

Just be aware: there is a scene concerning rape and assault that is really uncomfortable to watch. Better be prepared.