Review: Cape Fear (1991)

​There is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light. Except fear.

Original Movie Poster from TMDB.

A conglomeration of some exceptional performances that lack real relationships between the characters leave the film wanting at times. De Niro’s Max Cady is properly scary and he does an amazing job of taking on a new persona with a few slips into his normal accent that are almost unnoticeable. Nolte does good work as the torn lawyer, not wanting to make the same mistakes of the past both with his relationships and with his decisions regarding the law, tries to find a way, any way, out of his predicament. Jessica Lange’s character is a good representation for the frustrated housewife and Juliette Lewis does excellent in playing the rich spoiled child who acts out for her parents’ attention most of the time.

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Two areas I struggled with involved the relationships of Nolte and Lange and Lewis and her parents (Nolte and Lange). Sam Bowden (played by Nolte) clearly has a much better relationship with his colleague (played by Illeana Douglas) than with his wife. Why they're together is a mystery. They don’t seem to enjoy each other’s company much, a couple going through the motions which is real enough, but given that they don’t seem to take a real interest in each other beyond the mundane, Leigh Bowden’s reactions to the mere thought that her husband Sam may have had an affair sends her off the deep end when she clearly is not stable to begin with as demonstrated by her putting lipstick on in the middle of the night while her husband is sleeping and then trying to hide it. She has fantasies of a different life, as does Sam and yet her complete loss of control at his past extramarital affair when she thinks it could be happening again is a bit rich. I genuinely felt bad for Sam at this moment because he is denying himself the company of someone he enjoys being with for the sake of his marriage and family and it gets him nothing. Yet, the experience they are going through, being harassed by a vengeful mad man, seems to make her think it will test their relationship. Leigh says, "This will really test us, won't it? To see how strong we are, how strong our love is.” If earlier she believes without evidence of any sort that her husband is having an affair and goes off the deep end, I think we know how strong their relationship is. 

Then there’s Juliette Lewis’ character, Danielle Bowden or Dani. She is a rebellious teen which doesn’t surprise me nor is it out of place. Despite this, I cannot think of a time I personally wouldn’t have trusted my parents had they told me to stay away from a nutjob. The mere possibility of thinking that Cady could have poisoned my dog and was stalking my family, harassing them would have been enough to get the hell out of that theater when she is confronted by Cady. No fingers in my mouth, not heated sex talk, or anything. To add to it, after that, she continues to think that Cady is misunderstood, taking and hiding the book from under the garbage can when she’s outside with the housekeeper after her father just pulled off an elaborate scheme to make it look like he got on a plane to a different city and left them alone. Seriously? I think this was just a bit over the top when it comes to Dani’s rebellious and childish behavior going too far. Certainly the nature of the situation would have required more caution.

I did find Dani and her father, Sam’s, relationship a little awkward at times; her laying around in her underwear and a revealing tank top, they way they seemed to have fun earlier in the film and then she suddenly can’t stand or trust him later. It just seemed a bit forced and at times, creepy by itself. Dani does make amends and rescue her character at the end with her quick thinking and action while her parents are flopping around like a fish on the boat. Lange’s character also comes off as more human in this moment with her willingness to sacrifice herself for her daughter. Perhaps the added pressure is what it took to make them diamonds. In a way, this may have been Scorsese’s design as Nolte is hardly in the last twenty minutes while Cady is on the boat, tied up on deck while Cady is assaulting and terrifying his wife and daughter. It seems to emphasize the fact that both of them are better off without Sam and seemed to really shine in this moment.

When it comes to cinematography, it is well done and I enjoyed the homage to Alfred Hitchcock with the weird angles. The soundtrack is exceptional, really adding to the creep factor throughout the film. Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein did excellent work to make the score work (Herrmann having died before the making of the film leaving Bernstein to adapt and conduct the score for the film).

Overall, the film is about Cady and Sam and their interactions with each other are well done and scary. De Niro gives a great performance as does Nolte and if they could have strengthened the relationships between the family characters, I think it would have made for a better film. Still, a very solid film that I enjoyed watching and would recommend if you’re into creepy thrillers.

My Rating: 3/5