Martin Scorsese’s surprising remake of the 1962 Cape Fear affords a masterly demonstration of his technical virtuosity but eschews the creepy realism of the original to play to contemporary taste for overwrought horror. The result is stylistically brilliant and harrowing.
The basic plot remains the same: vengeful ex-con Max Cady (De Niro) mounts a terror campaign against the lawyer (Nolte) he blames for his 14-year imprisonment for rape, targeting the man’s wife and daughter (Jessica Lange and remarkable newcomer Juliette Lewis).
At first, Cady operates within the bounds of the law, threatening the Bowden family with his presence alone – his overbearing physicality, loud Hawaiian shirts and those suggestive draws on his cigar are warning enough of the coming threat.
But such restraint was never going to last, and the Cady-Bowden showdown becomes a destructive battle of wills, as the white-collar father struggles to fend off Cady’s relentless campaign of terror.
J. Lee Thompson’s original film was simple good vs. bad, but Scorsese opts for more complex themes of guilt and sin, with a dysfunctional family playing into the con’s hands.
De Niro’s tattooed wacko, in contrast to Robert Mitchum’s easy menace, goes spectacularly over the top en route to the finale, but the performances and psychology are as mesmerising as they are repugnant.
Nice touches are cameos from the original stars, Mitchum and Gregory Peck, and Bernard Hermann’s memorable score, rearranged by Elmer Bernstein.
Max Cady
Robert De Niro
Sam Bowden
Nick Nolte
Leigh Bowden
Jessica Lange
Danielle Bowden
Juliette Lewis
Claude Kersek
Joe Don Baker
Lieutenant Elgart
Robert Mitchum
Lee Heller
Gregory Peck
Judge
Martin Balsam
Lori Davis
Illeana Douglas
Tom Broadbent
Fred Dalton Thompson
Graciella
Zully Montero
Director
Martin Scorsese
