Genre Gems: Cape Fear

For those of you out there who are strangely knowledgeable in film history allow me to say here that I am discussing Cape Fear from 1991 and not from 1962. Having never seen the original I have no way of comparing the two but I will say straight up that if I where a 60′s movie maker and in the autumn of my life I heard my film was being remade, there is no name I would want attached to that movie more than Martin Scorsese. If you don’t know that name, I recommend you go fix that. Scorsese is easily one of the best directors alive today and very possibly one of the best since the beginning of movies as a mainstream medium. Much like his fellow breakout stars from the rebirth of Hollywood many of Scorsese’s films were the cheap films of old as mastered and portrayed by someone with the raw knuckle skill to make it a masterpiece. Scorsese is known to film fans for a variety of his movies, usually in his ability to portray criminal violence with artistic flare while maintaining the visceral and uncomfortable feeling of seeing bones break and blood flow and also for bringing out his actors best and most memorable A game. 

Before the world was atwitter at the ‘match made in heaven’ pairing of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, there was a duel act which pretty much set the bar for the edge of the newly acquired cinematic sword back in the 70′s. That coupling being the calm deliberate power of Scorsese when joined at the hip to the raw acting prowess of Robert De Niro. Though beginning their journey together with Mean Streets the true wonder of this pairing was realized when Taxi Driver hit the big screen with enough force to scare most of middle class america into the country side. Since then the duo have applied themselves from film types ranging from sports too full out mobster mayhem. In 1991 however the two put themselves together on a film that despite its line up seems to have slipped many people by. That film being my genre gem for today: Cape Fear. The film is a wonderful mixture of political commentary, smart thriller and downright scary horror film. Despite its many different aspects I chose CF as my genre gem for its qualities as a Thriller. In a slight break with regular tradition I feel I can give something of a plot summary without spoiling the movie watching experience behind this one seeing as the basics of the plot are pretty much lined up after the first 10 minutes. 

Nick Nolte plays Sam Bowden, the middle class american dream, a small town layer with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter simply trying to figure out which part of his existence could be any easier. Introduce into the serene landscape Max Cady. Trying to describe Cady in any level of detail is pretty much impossible because he stands as one of my favorite film villains for very good reason. The man is a complete and utter thrill ride. A complete jumble of contradictions and unpredictability somehow becoming the spiritual love child of Hannibal Lecter, The Terminator and the most frightening guest to ever appear on Jerry Springer. To have such a defiant and warped genius housed in such an oddly manic body sets the tone for the film as a whole. Max Cady is this film entire and is the reason behind every touch of tension even when not appearing on screen due to his almost impossible to predict character. His charming, jovial nature as combined with his trailer trash speech leaves an audience uncertain as to who is the protagonist. And though Cady may be worthy of fear, it doesn’t detract from cathartic joy of seeing Nick Nolte’s pristine suburban life crumble before his eyes. Much like the much more know Taken this is in essence a revenge film whose sole guiding power is the sheer ruthless single mindedness of its leading role. Difference being here is that Cady is far from the good guy. 

This is only one of the two times Scorsese has handled this genre and to be honest to expect anything less than a real punch in the gut kind of film could only be due to your unfamiliarity with the mans style. I think that a secret smile was hidden behind those massive bushy eyebrows during this films production as it seems to almost resemble a highly polished yet unrestrained live action portrayal of every suburban, judgmental, all-white parenting pairs the worst possible nightmare. If that wasn’t enough to get you serious I will also note that this film brought us Juliette Lewis whose role in this film at age 19 got her nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar… for what Hollywood saw as a deliberately edgy horror film. You want to know how she managed that, watch the movie. This girl at 19 could hold pace with Robert Fucking De Niro. That’s like being in your mid teens and being able to match Usain Bolt in a running race, it simply shouldn’t be possible. Stellar cast, brilliant directing, excellent editing and all in all one of the genre’s best additions. 

Thick and thin thrillers as written in red.