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Cape Fear Movie Review

Cape Fear is a 1991 psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis. It’s a very entertaining, somewhat silly movie.

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“If you hold on to the past,

you die a little each day“

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It follows a convicted rapist who uses his newfound knowledge of the law and its numerous loopholes to seek vengeance against a former public defender, whom he blames for his 14-year imprisonment because of the purposefully faulty defense tactics used during his trial. This film acts as a remake to the 1962 adaptation of the same story and it retains some actors, such as Gregory Peck. It was a box office smash back in 1991, though the critics weren’t lavishing praise toward it for the most part.

As for myself, the movie genuinely surprised me how fun it is. Its entertainment factor is impressive despite its many obvious flaws. It’s a standard 90s psychological thriller that is elevated to greater heights thanks to absolutely incredible acting across the board and some genuinely disturbing sequences. The violence here is excessive as is the gore, but those were necessary in order to make you be scared of Max Cady.

And oh boy, was Cady horrifying. I loved everything about this character. From the way he uses sweet talk and manipulation to lure his potential victims to his obviously high intelligence to his staggering physical presence, everything about him worked, and that was in no small part thanks to De Niro’s powerful performance that might just be one of his best. I hadn’t expected from him to be this disturbing, but his performance is so believable from his horrifyingly evil eyes to his calm, but ominous manner of speaking. His presence throughout is magnetic.

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Others are also excellent in this impressively put together cast. Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange both make an impression and the entire family was wonderfully realized, but it is actually the daughter who surprised me the most. Yes, Juliette Lewis undoubtedly deserved her Oscar nomination for playing Danielle with so much eclectic and raw emotions. Loved everything about her.

So, Cape Fear is amazing in the aforementioned aspects, but what is it that makes it less than great, but just good? Well, that has to be that entire third act, which although wildly entertaining, was simply way too silly for its own sake. This is, without any doubt, the silliest and least serious movie from Scorsese for better and for worse.

While it reminded me pleasantly of that iconic Simpsons episode that parodied the entire film, this section was too ludicrous in all the back and forth between the family members and Cady. The houseboat and the storm made it all the more over-the-top, and again I found it fun, but I wondered if the entire movie would have benefited from a more grounded and mature tackling of this otherwise terrific premise.

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The movie’s uneven tone of a serial killer thriller movie mixed with the slasher horror overtones made it problematic, but again highly fun to watch. It is also very well shot, well edited and paced and it flies by as it’s quite engaging throughout. Another highlight is that score, which is instantly iconic in its menacing main theme. It should have been nominated by the Academy in my opinion.