Cape Fear (1991) Review "You gonna learn about loss!"

 

 

 

 

 

OK, time for another post as we near June (can't believe its June already!) and this one will be a revisit of one of my older posts and it will be on the 1991 remake of the classic thriller, Cape Fear with the remake directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro as the villain, Max Cady. So, it will be the usual additional stuff to the post but I will try and cut it down just a bit more, so the performance section isn't too ridiculous like it usually is length wise!

So, after 30 years, let's see how the remake stacks up...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the film starts with Max Cady (Robert De Niro), a convict who has just been released from prison afer serving 14 years for rape and battery, seeks out his lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) and looks for revenge for Sam having put Cady away behind bars.  Sam was his defence lawyer at the time back in Atlana in 1977, but during the case, on seeing what Cady did to his victim, a 16 year old girl, he decided to bury a report that came back saying the girl was promiscuous.  And had Sam let this report be used, it might have seen Cady get off with a lighter sentence or be released.  Of course Cady has since caught on to this, and that's his main reason he wants revenge, for the suffering and pain he endured in prison.  

So, Cady starts a series of incidents to intimidate and get at Sam and his family, this starts with the Bowden's dog being mysteriously poisoned.  Cady also meets with a girl, Lori (Illeana Douglas) who is a county court clerk, who works with Sam, whom he has been seeing behind his wife's back.  Cady although appears to hit it off with Lori when they meet in a bar, he soon takes her back to his apartment where he brutally beats and rapes her.  On hearing of the attack, Sam goes to hospital and talks to Lori, asking her to testify, but she refuses as she knows how the system works, and she doesn't want to explain herself to a jury in court about how she came to be in a bar with Cady. 

After having no success with the police, Sam decides to hire a private eye, Claude Kersek (Joe Don Baker) to follow Cady and maybe catch him in the act, although ultimately Cady makes Kersek at a local diner, and Kersek confronts him and tells him to leave town, but Cady refuses.  Meanwhile Cady approaches Sam's daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis) at school and tries to charm her around in his favour, in doing so he puts his hand around her, gets her to suck his thumb erotically, and he kisses her before leaving, Dani then panics and runs off.  

Soon after Sam gets Kersek to hire some guys to do a "hospital" job on Cady, involving two pieces of pipe and a bicycle chain, however during the attack, Cady turns the tables and viciously beats them.  Cady then goes one better on Sam by hiring a top lawyer Lee Heller (Gregory Peck), who Sam shortly after the botched attack approaches to make an injunction on Cady, only to find that he was pipped to the post by his enemy.  In court it is revealed that Cady recorded a conversation between himself and Sam, as Sam threatened Cady to leave town or he will be hurting like he never dreamed.  As a result of the hearing, Cady gets a restraining order filed against Sam, and Lee petitions the ABA (American Bar Association) ethics comission to have Sam disbarred.

Sam now desparate turns to Kersek for help in trying to get rid of Cady, Kersek suggests that Sam fake his flight out to his hearing, and instead steakout in the Bowden household for Cady to come in and shoot him in what he sees as justifiable self defence.  However Cady is one step ahead again, and mysteriously makes his way into the house where he kills Kersek and the house maid Graciella (Zully Montero) by garroting them with piano wire (which he had taken from the Bowden's piano). 

Sam and his family then decide to flee to their houseboat and travel up to Cape Fear in hope of escaping Cady.  However tenacious as ever, Cady follows them to their location by strapping himself to the chassis of the Bowdens' Cherokee jeep. And soon enough on the houseboat, during a violent stormy night, Cady confronts them for the last time, intent on exacting his full revenge on Sam and his family... 

THOUGHTS 

Most remakes of course fall flat on their face, but thankfully Cape Fear isn't one of them, with Martin Scorsese at the directorial helm, it certainly wouldn't do that.  I also actually prefer it to the original version, as I think the Bowden family in the original version of Cape Fear where a bit too goody goody and clean cut.  In the remake, they are a dysfunctional family, who have tried to make some amends, but Sam has had a past history of womanising, Leigh of course is the frustrated housewife and Dani is the shellshocked, lonely teenager.  It doesn't make for a particularly happy image of the American family, but it certainly makes it more interesting to watch than a clean cut cardboard cut out family.  

What doesn't change so much of course is the depiction of Max Cady, as Robert De Niro plays in an not entirely similar but not disimilar way to Robert Mitchum, although Scorsese did say he use Mitchum's character from the Night of the Hunter as more of an influence.  As Cady in the remake is more like a demented preacher at times than just an ex-con, and he regularly quotes passages from the bible to Sam in their various meetings.  

Its the ultimate irony, that in Cady's eyes that he thinks he is some sort of angel sent to do God's work, and at the end of it all, he thinks he will go to heaven, despite his brutal violent nature.  Although if you think about it, in a strange way Cady was trying to save Sam from himself, with Lori for example, he exposed the fact he was seeing Lori behind his wife's back.  If Cady hadn't intervened, Sam's deception no doubt would have carried on, but its almost like Cady is the moral adjudacator who prevents it from carrying on.  It leads onto that bizzare but true line from Cady to Sam at one point when he says "You could say I'm here to save you".    

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and some strong language!)

Performance wise the cast are all excellent here with solid efforts all round.

Starting with Robert De Niro, who is great as Max Cady, the ex-con, who is released from prison after a 14 year sentence and is hellbent on seeking revenge over his lawyer, Sam Bowden, who had essentially shafted him.

And De Niro has his share of great scenes and it would be impossible to list them all, so I will mention just a few as this review is big as it is lol.

So, the first scene I will mention is the one where Cady follows Sam to his car after his squash session with Lori. So, as Sam gets in his car and puts the key in the ignition, Cady suddenly pulls the key out of it and says to Sam "Free as a bird apparently! You go to wherever with whomever. That sort of freedom couldn't get a fella into a trouble, what do you think?" and Sam says "I kinda would like my keys". So, Cady then introduces himself and shakes Sam's hand and says "Max Cady" and he continues "14 years since I held a set of keys" and he gives them back to Sam. So, Sam says "Well you look good, healthy" and Cady says "Thank you because its a struggle stay healthy in the joint. But you wouldn't know about that would you?". Sam then asks him "So, what brings you to New Essex?" and Cady says "Oh, the climate. Oh boy, the South! I'm thinking of settling right down here in New Essex, counselor!". Sam then starts his engine and says to Cady "Well, you took care of yourself, Mr Cady" and Cady says "You too". However as Sam starts to drive off, Cady says under his breath "You gonna learn about loss!" and Sam stops his car and call out to Cady and says "What??!" but Cady has already walked back to his car.

Another good scene comes when Cady pulls up his car next to Sam on the street and he says to him "Afternoon counselor" and Sam impatiently asks him "What do you want, Mr Cady?" and a few teenage school girls walk past him at this point and Cady eyes them up and says "Hmmm hmm! They're great at that age, aren't they? All those discoveries ahead of em". Cady then says to Sam "You're lucky counselor. My own daughter, she don't even know me, her mother told her I was dead, which in a way I was".

Sam then tries to reason with Cady and realises that he has suffered but Cady just laughs dismissively at him when Sam tries to blame it on the judge instead. Cady however says "Best I remember they were just doing right by their jobs" and Sam says that he did his best and Cady could have been handed a tougher sentence. So, Cady looks at Sam and says "I learned to read during my stretch. First "Spot goes through the farm" then "Run away, bunny" then law books mostly and he continues "You know after I discharged you, I acted as my own attorney? Applied several times for an appeal". Sam however finally asks "OK how much do you want, Mr Cady?" and Sam says "How much money?" and Cady points to his car and says "Counselor! Do, I look destitute to you?". 

Sam then suggests he is open to discussion on compensation and Cady asks him "What is the formula for compensation, sir?" and Sam suggests "How about $10,000 in cash?" and Cady looks a bit insulted and says "Do I? Well...let's just break that down!" and Sam says "No, that was just a number off the top of my head" and Cady continues "No, let's just break that down. Let's say 20,000, let's say 30,0000, let's say 50,000. 50,000 into 14 years I guess that's what about 5000 days and that's about 10 dollars a day! I mean that's not even minimum wage! That's not to say anything about the family I lost, the respect I lost. I really don't think you understand what we're talkin about here. 14 years!". Then his beeper goes off and Cady says to Sam "Oh, gotta git! I'm late for another appointment" and he drives off.

Then there is the great scene where Cady meets and charms Lori in a bar and gets her drunk where we see how charming Cady can be when he wants to be and flirts with Lori but also hints at the truth of his background. 

So, in the scene as Lori tells Cady about Sam standing her up, she asks a bit about Cady and asks "Now, its my turn. Where are you from?" and Cady smiles and says "Where am I from? You're gonna love this! I'm from Georgia state correctional facility" and Lori bursts out laughing and Cady can't help but laugh a little too. Cady however confirms what he said "You think I'm joking, that's the truth. I just got released from prison". Lori laughs even more and recovers and says "Oh my God! This is the way my day has been turning out!". 

Lori then tells Cady a joke about a married man who went to prison for killing his wife with a chainsaw "chopped her into 52 pieces!" which prompts laughter from Cady. Lori then asks "What did you do?" and Cady jokes "Well, I hacked my wife into 52 pieces!" and Lori says "Well, I'm quite a small person so..." and Cady jokes "Well maybe I could hack you into 40 pieces!" and he laughs. Lori however curiously asks "No, but what did you do? Seriously?" and Cady jokes in a female voice "No, but what did you do?!". Cady then tells Lori "Well, there was this protest march on a nuclear power plant. And so when they came to arrest us, this macho sheriff got a tad rough with the lady behind me, so I popped the little bastard. So, they gave me a little time for it". So, Lori tells Cady she is drinking sea breezes and hopes he can afford them but Cady teasingly says "You gotta stay sober. Because if you ain't sober, you're taking your chances because I am just one hell of an animal!" and Lori then grins and says "Oh, yeah? Do tell!". 

Then we have the scene where Cady drops by the Bowden house and talks to Leigh as he gives her Leigh's dog collar and he soon reveals who he is to her. 

So, as Cady hands over the collar, Leigh tells him "Our dog...he passed away" and Cady says "Aww shame. Man's best friend and all. Woman's too!" and Leigh smiles a little and Cady says "Even if I close my eyes I can picture him. Big, white, shaggy, plays at your feet while you finish up those pesky little sketches!". Then it dawns on Leigh who Cady is and she says "Oh, you're Max Cady, aren't you? You know you better get the hell out of here before I call the police!" and Cady tells her "I'm not doing nothing. I'm just giving you your dog collar back, I'm not on your property". 

Leigh then angrily asks Cady "You want to look around, Mr Cady?! Take a good look!" and Cady looks at the house and says "Nice house" and Leigh angrily says "It is a nice house. You satisfied now?! You've seen it? Or is there gonna be more? Oh, there will be more, Mr Cady because you won't stop until your happy!". Cady then tells Leigh with a smile "How can I happy, Leigh when you're not happy" and Leigh smirks and says "You don't anything about me!" but Cady tells her "I know what I see, ma'am!". 

Leigh then tells Cady "You know, I've been waiting to see your face and what you look like but now that I see you...you are just repulsive!". Cady then says "I understand, I'm not your type. All that prison made me coarse. Guess I'm covered in too many tattoos huh? Unfortunately there isn't a whole hell of a lot to do in prison except desecrate your flesh! But it didn't have to be this way if your husband hadn't betrayed us both. We might have been happy, Leigh!".   

Another good scene is when Cady is beaten up by the guys Sam hired through Kersek but Cady turns the tables on them and beats them up instead. So, as Cady finishes beating on them, Sam hiding clatters into something and hides behind a dumpster.

So, Cady looks up and calls out to Sam "Counselor?! Counselor?! Is that you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!". Cady all blooded then goes to pick up his cap and he stands over the men he's beaten up and says to them "I ain't no white trash piece of shit. I'm better than you all! I can out-learn you. I can out-read you. I can out-think you. And I can out-philosophize you. And I'm gonna outlast you. You think a couple whacks to my guts is gonna get me down? It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that, Counselor, to prove you're better than me!". Cady then quotes from a German poet, Angelus Silesius ""I am like God, and God like me. I am as large as God, He is as small as I. He cannot above me, nor I beneath Him be." Silesius, 17th Century!". Cady then slowly walks towards the dumpster and calls out to Sam "Counselor? Counselor?? Could you be there? Could you be there? I wonder if you're here?" but Sam says nothing and stays hidden. So, Cady eventually gives up and says "Aw fuck it! If you're here what the fuck's the difference? Fuck it!" and he throws away the lead pipe and walks to his car. 

And last of all is the scene where Cady has his final confrontation with Sam on the houseboat during a violent stormy night and after he has been set on fire by Danielle, sustaining nasty burns to his skin, he climbs back onboard and he points a gun at Sam and says "The people call Samuel J. Bowden!". 

So, in the next moment we cut to Cady back in the cabin holding Sam at gunpoint and he asks him in the style of a judge "You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?!" and Sam warns Cady "Cady, someone's got to man the boat, we're heading into unprotected water!". Danielle then moves to do it and says "I'll do it, dad" but Cady points the gun at her and shouts "Sit, Danielle! Don't make light of your civic duty! You're the jury!". Sam then says "OK, I swear to tell you the truth, what do you want to know?" and Cady asks "Was a prior pre-sexual history ever prepared in connection with my defense?". Sam however hesitates to answer, so Cady hits him with his gun and asks "A prior pre-sexual was prepared. True?" and Sam says yes. Cady then asks "Could you tell the court what was the gist of this report?" and Sam stalls again "It was 14 years ago, I can't remember that" prompting Cady to hit him again.

Leigh screams and shouts at Cady "How can he answer you when you're hitting him like that?!!" and Cady turns to her and says "Cos he's perjuring himself, your honor, he knows full well what it said" and he turns back to Sam and shouts "Don't you??!". So, Sam admits "It said she was promiscuous and she had 3 lovers in one month" and Cady emphatically says "AT LEAST THREE! AT LEAST THREE! And did you show this report to the DA?" and Sam admits "No". Cady then says "I only discovered itafter I petitioned to represent myself but there it was in the court file! Six years into my sentence! What you care to tell the court why?! Would you care to tell the court why???!". So, Sam admits "Because I knew he raped her and brutally beat her!" and that it didn't giver him the right to rape her and he was a menace. Cady then yells at Sam "YOU WERE MY LAWYER! You were my lawyer! That report could have saved me 14 years!" and Sam says "You were probably right!" and Cady angrily shouts "You self righteous fuck!".  

And last of all is the moment just after this where Cady dementedly yells at Sam as he passes his own sentence against Sam's past actions. So, Cady shouts at Sam "I'm Vergil, Counselor and I'm guiding you to the gates of hell! We are in the 9th circle of traitors, traitors to fellow man, traitors to GOD! You sir are charged with betraying all three! And I find you guilty, counselor! Guilty of betraying your fellow man! Guilty of betraying your country! Guilty of abrogating your oath! Guilty of judging me and selling me out! And by the power invested me by the kingdom of God, I sentence YOU to the 9th circle of HELL!!! Now, YOU will learn about loss!! Loss of freedom! Loss of HUMANITY! Now, you and I will truly be the same, counselor!".

Nick Nolte next is excellent in his role as Sam Bowden, who acted as Cady's lawyer and Cady blames him for his imprisonment and is out for revenge. 

And Nolte has plenty of highlights and I will try and mention just a few again below.

Starting with the scene where Sam chats to fellow lawyer, Tom (Fred Dalton Thompson) about his first meeting with Cady after his release from prison and how Cady made an alluded threat about him "learning about loss". 

So, in the scene Sam explains his original case with Cady and he says to Tom "Tom, years ago in this case, I had a report on the victim" and Tom asks "It was a rape case?" and Sam says "Yeah, rape and aggravated sexual battery. I had a report on this victim and it came back that she was promiscuous and uh...I buried it". So, Tom looks stunned on hearing this and he asks Sam "Anybody else know it?" and Sam says "No, I didn't show it to the client, to the prosecution. But if you'd seen what he done to this girl..." but Tom still stunned at the news, mocks Sam and reminds him of his principles as a lawyer "Some folks don't have the right to the best defence, huh Sam?" and Sam defensively says "Of course they deserve the best defence! But if you had seen what he DID to this girl..." but Tom shakes his head and says "Buried the report!" and Sam says "If it was your own daughter, Tom..." and Tom says "Jesus, Sam!". Sam then sits down and says "But I see how he could know that. I mean he was illiterate. I had to read everything to him, the arrest reports, the affidavits. There is no way he could have known that". 

Another good scene is when Sam argues with his wife, Leigh over his phone call with Lori and she believes he is cheating on her. So, in the scene Sam sees Leigh stand outside as he talks to Lori, so he quickly hangs up and turns around to see her. So, Leigh tries to control herself and says "Well, I don't know what I hate more? That insipid tone or your stupid sophomore infidelities? Who was that? The girl that got beat up?". So, Sam tells her directly "Yeah, that was the girl that got beat up. Lori Davis, I told you she works at the county courthouse, she's a clerk" and Leigh asks him "And what? Your fucking her?". Sam then sighs and puts the phone back and says "Why is it every time I speak on the phone, you assume I'm fucking someone?" and Leigh says "That's why that psychopath chose her right?" and Sam tells her "Yes, that's right but I am not fucking her in any way". So, Leigh angrily starts slapping Sam and shouts "You son of a bitch!! Goddamn you, you son of a bitch!"

So, as they row loudly and their daughter, Danielle races to her room, turns on her music to drown them out and calls her friend, Nadine. Sam then tries to diffuse the argument by saying "Isn't this what Dr Hackett spoke about? Digging up the past? The relevant issue here is whether or not I have been messing around in New Essex and the answer is I have NOT been!". So, Sam sits next to Leigh and says to her quietly "Look, Leigh I'm scared. I think there's some animal out there stalking us and wants to hurt us in the worst way and that's got me frightened to death". Leigh then looks at Sam and says "You really are scared, aren't you? Somebody FINALLY got to you!". 

Sam then says "Look, Leigh, I think he beat and raped her because he knew she wouldn't testify because she knows the system, she works in it. She knows that'd she would be on trial and then because of that, you would assume something was going on between us and it would cause a rift. And that'd we'd be more vulnerable to him". Sam sighs then tells Leigh "Look, I'm glad we talked about this because now we can work together and beat that son of a bitch, the two of us as a team!". Leigh then gives Sam a dirty look and we cut to Sam lying on the couch downstairs as she clearly kicked him out of their bedroom. So, as Sam tries to get comfy on the couch, he complains to himself "Oh, this is great. This is something else! SHIT!". 

Another good scene is the one where Sam after Cady has a restraining filed against Sam as a result of the botched assault on Cady organised by Kersek, he goes to Kersek's office and asks for a gun. 

So, in the scene, Sam rushes into Kersek's office and he says urgently "Kersek! I need a gun! Do you have a gun?! I need a gun!" and Kersek says "OK, OK, I'll get you a gun, just calm down". Kersek asks "Do you know anything about guns?" and Sam admits "No, I don't believe in them. I never had one around the house" and Kersek says "OK, let me see your hands?". So, Sam holds up his hands and Kersek makes a few guesses and says "A snub nosed special. I can teach you how to use it, afterwards we can go out and shoot some trees" and Sam says "Great!". 

Kersek however then has a change of heart and says "Look, Sam, you have a gun and pull it on Cady, before you know it, its gonna dawn on you that shooting a man is different than trees. Next thin, you don't have my gun, Cady does". Sam however insists "No, but you're gonna teach me how to use it..." and Kersek "OK! OK! Best case scenario, you kill Cady dog dead. 15 years to life, you realise that, counselor?". Sam exasperated then sits down and says "Jesus! Its all fucked up, Kersek! I mean the law considers more of a loose cannon that Max Cady! Some big shit attorney has whipped the A.B.A. ethics committee into a frenzy! There's an emergency session is Raleigh over the assault". Kersek asks "How did they link that to you?" and Sam says "I went to warn Cady. I thought it was the decent thing to do. He was wired". Kersek then asks "This hearing, is it real important?" and Sam laughs "Only if I want to continue to practice law, yeah!".    

Another good scene is when Sam, Leigh and Danielle flee their house to head for the houseboat on the river to escape Cady and Sam is on the phone to the police. So, Sam says to the police Lieutenant (played by Robert Mitchum) "I've got Kersek's gun with me..and you're gonna find the piano wire that Cady used in the house. Yeah, I know how this looks. I know it. You're not supposed to flee a murder scene. Listen, Lieutenant, you may know this and you may not. In the law there's a thing called force majeure.It means an unforeseeable act of God. It cancels all promises and obligations. Legally speaking, all bets are off! You find Max Cady...and we'll come back!". Sam then hangs up and Leigh asks "What did he say?" and Sam tells her "He said we're fugitives" and Danielle asks "What does that mean?" and Sam tells her "It means we're doing something right!" and they get into their Cherokee and drive off without knowing Cady has strapped himself underside their jeep.

And last of all is the scene on the houseboat where Cady confronts Sam over his trial outcome and how he buried the report on the hooker he was sentenced over and how it showed she was promiscuous. So, in the scene Cady angrily asks Sam "I didn't know about the report until I petitioned to defend myself but I found in the court file, six years into my sentence but back in 77 you buried, counselor! What you care to tell the jury why?! WOULD YOU CARE TO TELL THE COURT WHY?!". And Sam looks to Leigh and Danielle and tells them "Because I knew he brutally raped her and beat her!" and Cady shouts "Talk to me I'm standing here!!!" and he hits Sam. Sam then shouts at Cady "Just because she was promiscuous that didn't give you the right to rape her! You bragged to me your already beat two prior aggravated rapes! You were a menace!". Cady then yells at Sam "YOU WERE MY LAWYER! You were my lawyer! That report could have saved me 14 years!" and Sam tells him "You're probably right!!". 

Jessica Lange is excellent also in her role as Leigh Bowden, Sam's wife, who has a strained relationship with her husband due to his past infidelities and is strained even more by Cady's torments.

And Jessica has her share of good scenes but I will try and keep it down to just a few for time, starting with the one where Leigh fights with Sam after he calls Lori and she accuses him of sleeping with Lori. 

So, in the scene, Sam hangs up the phone after speaking to Lori and we see Leigh who has a forced smiles on her face and she says with contained anger "Well, I don't know what I hate more? That insipid tone or your stupid sophomore infidelities! Who was that? The girl that got beat up?". So, Sam says "Yeah it was the girl that got beat up. Lori Davis, she works at the courthouse, she's a clerk" and Leigh asks "And what? You're fucking her? Interesting choice, Sam, calling from our bedroom phone". Sam then says "Why is it when I speak to someone on the phone you assume I'm fucking them?" and Leigh says "That's why that psychopath chose her right?" and Sam says "Yes, that's right but I'm not fucking her in any way". So, Leigh turns to him and furiously slaps him repeatedly shouting "You son of a bitch! Goddamn you! You son of a bitch!!".

Then there is the scene where Leigh is visited by Cady who drops by in his car and gives back her dog's collar sometime after the dog had died. So, as Cady hands over the collar, Leigh tells him "Our dog...he passed away" and Cady says "Aww shame. Man's best friend and all. Woman's too!" and Leigh smiles a little and Cady says "Even if I close my eyes I can picture him. Big, white, shaggy, plays at your feet while you finish up that pesky little sketches!". Then it dawns on Leigh who Cady is and she says "Oh, you're Max Cady, aren't you? You know you better get the hell out of here before I call the police!" and Cady tells her "I'm not doing nothing. I'm just giving you your dog collar back, I'm not on your property". Leigh then angrily asks Cady "You want to look around, Mr Cady?! Take a good look!" and Cady looks at the house and says "Nice house" and Leigh angrily says "It is a nice house. You satisfied now?! You've seen it? Or is there gonna be more? Oh, there will be more, Mr Cady because you won't stop until your happy!". Cady then tells Leigh with a smile "How can I happy, Leigh when you're not happy" and Leigh smirks and says "You don't anything about me!" but Cady tells her "I know what I see, ma'am!". Leigh then tells Cady "You know, I've been waiting to see what your face and what you look like but now that I see you...you're just repulsive!". 

Another good scene is where the Bowden's are steaking out at home in wait for Cady to enter, Sam reads the bible in bed with Leigh, who is trying to sleep but she is too restless. So, Leigh asks Sam "What are you reading?" and Sam show her the cover of the bible and she says "What? Did Kersek quit?" and Sam says "No, its just Cady said..." Leigh says "You want some answers. Me too. I'd like to just strong we are or how weak. But I guess the only way we'll know is by going through this". 

And last of all is the scene on the houseboat near the end where Cady confronts the family and Leigh tries to reason with Cady. So, Leigh tearfully tells Cady "Listen to me, Max, listen to me. You know, Max, since all this started, I've thought about you all the time. I've tried to imagine what it must have been like for you, all those years locked up in jail... I've tried to imagine you and even your crimes, and how you must have felt in those moments that you did them... See, I know about loss, Max. I know about losing time, even losing years. And I know it doesn't compare to jail, but I can understand. And I can share this with you. Because of that, whatever it is you've got planned, I want you to do it just with me... not with her... because... we have this connection!".     

Juliette Lewis is also great in her role also as Danielle Bowden, Sam and Leigh's teenage daughter, who is tormented by Cady also as he tries to turn her against her parents. 

And Juliette's best scene is of course the one where Danielle meets with Cady at school in the theatre and the two of them talk at first like he is her drama teacher but he soon reveals himself to her as they chat. 

So, in the scene Danielle walks up to Cady in the theatre, who sits smoking a joint and Danielle a little surprised says "You can't smoke grass in school" and Cady tells her "Privilege of the profession". So, Danielle says to Cady "When we spoke on the phone last night, you made a lot sense to me and I thought alot" and Cady tells her "Those are human truths, darlin and that's what its all about". Cady then notices the book she is carrying "See the book you have there? Thomas Wolfe? Its all about discovery, the inner voyage". Danielle then tells Cady about the ending of the book "I like the end with Eugene's journey, it was really mystical and like a pilgrimage". Cady however says "More like a cop-out if you ask me. But these were the facts of Wolfe's life, the novel is what you would call roman a clef. You know what that is?" and Danielle smiles awkwardly and says "Sure". 

Cady however then goes on to mention about another writer, Henry Miller and his trilogy of "Plexus, Nexus and Sexus" and Danielle says she never read it and Cady smiles and says "You're missing something!". Danielle however admits to Cady "Well you know what, I did read a little of Tropic of Cancer. But I had to sneak it off my parents shelf but his descriptions are pretty vivid I'd say". Cady then tells her "In one of his novels, I don't recall which, he described an erection as a piece of lead with wings on it" and Danielle surprised says "I didn't read THAT part!". Cady then tells her that of course not as she isn't allowed as her parents would let her and they deflect their issues onto her. 

However, this then get's Danielle thinking something is up and she says "Wait a minute? Where are you from?" and Cady says "Where do you think I'm from?" and Danielle says "I don't know" and Cady says "If I tell you, will you get mad at me?" and Danielle says "No" and Cady looks around the theatre and says "I'm from the black forest!". Danielle then asks "You're not the drama teacher are you?" and Cady smiles and says "Maybe I'm the big bad wolf!" and Danielle growing anxious asks Cady "Are you that guy that is hanging around the house? You're the one that killed my mom's dog?" and Cady says "You're mum's dog was killed? I didn't know anything about that. That's a shame, that a damn shame". 

Another good scene is where Sam enters Danielle's room and he asks her about her meeting with Cady and that she will go back to school tomorrow.

So, Danielle says to Sam "This isn't going to work you know. Locking us in, hiding us from the world" and Sam says "Don't be so dramatic, Danni!" and Danielle says "Making me stay out of school!" and Sam tells her "Well, you're going back to school tomorrow". Danielle then says to Sam "Why am I going back to school tomorrow? What are you going to do?" and Sam says "That is none of your concern, Danni". Danielle then says "Dad, he didn't force himself on me. I know you'd like to think that he did. But I think he was just trying to make a connection with me". Sam however sits down and says to Danielle firmly "No! There will never be any connection between you and Max Cady!" Danielle then goes silent and gives a strange smile and Sam suddenly asks her "Did he touch you?" and Danielle smiles and Sam says "Why are you smiling? I'm asking you a question, did he touch you?". Danielle smiles again and says "What?". Sam then grabs Danielle by the face roughly and angrily asks "Wipe that smile off your face! I'm asking you, did he touch you?!" and Danielle clearly frightened says nothing and Sam lets her go and tries to apologise but very upset, she yells at him "GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE!!" and Sam leaves. 

And last of all is the scene on the houseboat where Cady enters having incapacitated Sam and he says to Leigh and Danielle that Sam is resting up and he has taken Sam's gun. So, Cady asks Danielle "Danielle. Where's Sexus?" and Danielle says "Back at the house" and Cady says "Shame. I had hoped we could read aloud from it together" and Danielle tells him "Well, I memorized some for you" and Cady surprised asks "Did you? Well, I'm impressed. Which part was that?" and Danielle embarrassed says "The part...you know what part" and Cady clicks his tongue and says "I don't think you did your homework!". Danielle then becoming teary says "Yeah I did" and Cady asks "What parts were that? The good parts?" and Danielle more teary says "Yeah..." and Cady asks "Were you a good girl?" and Danielle almost in tears says "Yeah, I was. I knew you would follow me here". Cady then tells her "You know me pretty well, don't you, darlin? And you're gonna get to know me alot better too!" but then Danielle throws a pan of hot water over Cady and she screams "NO!!" at him but Cady doesn't flinch and asks "Are you offering me something hot?".

Joe Don Baker next up is also great in his role as Kersek, the private detective that Sam hires to tail Cady and later on they try to set a trap to kill him but it doesn't pan out.

And Baker has his share of good scenes but I will try and limit to just a few again and I will start with the scene where Kersek confronts Cady outside a diner after Cady pays for a breakfast that Kersek didn't order. 

So, in the scene Kersek goes out after Cady and says to him "Hey, Cady! Cady come here! I've been a real bad mood lately, that's a shame ain't it? You know what you could do to brighten my mood?" and Cady chewing on his cigar, takes it out his mouth and asks "No?" and Kersek says "Get the hell out of here!". Cady then smiles and Kersek continues "I don't just mean this town but the whole state. I don't wanna see, I don't wanna smell you, now leave!". Cady then toys with Kersek and says "I like to think...are you my friend?" and Kersek not amused says "No, I'm NOT your friend!". So, Cady says to Kersek "Oh, see I like to plan my comings and goings with friends but if you're not my friend, then I call that presumptuous, in fact I call that downright rude! Because I ain't your porch-baby, buddy!". Kersek then says "Oh, I'm sorry if I offended you, you white trash piece of shit!" and Cady mocks Kersek and says "Oh, you really shaken me up! I got the all round fidgets on that one and I'm shakin all over!". 

Cady then warns Kersek "Its not necessary to lay a foul tongue on me, friend. Things could get nasty, they could get out of hand and in an act of self defense I could do something right here, right now, you wouldn't like!". Kersek then warns Cady "Anytime you feel squirrely, just jump!" and Cady asks "You threatening me?! You threatening me??" and Kersek sarcastically says "You catch on fast!". Cady then tells Kersek firmly "Because I'm well within my rights to be here and you know it! If I stay here, what are you gonna do?". Kersek impatiently tells Cady "I don't give a rats ass about your rights, and you know what I'm talking about". Cady then taunts Kersek and asks "What are you a cop? Or were you a cop? Or were not good enough to remain on the force because that's the feeling I'm gettin here" and he smiles and says "I hope you enjoyed your breakfast" and he walks off.

This is followed by the scene where Kersek meets with Sam outside his law firm and Kersek says to him "Sam! I thought I'd catch you here. Well, that little smart alec made me" and Sam asks "What?" and Kersek tells Sam "Well, it wasn't my fault, he was looking to be covered". Kersek then says "You were right, there is a lot of cutsie-cutsie in that little prick, isn't there?!" and Sam says "Oh, I know. I told you!". Kersek then tells Sam "You know where he was this afternoon? At the public library readin"Thus Spake Zarathustra" by Friedrich Nietsche, this German philosopher that said "God is dead". Kersek then says to Sam "Look we can keep going this but its going to get awfully expensive, Sam" and Sam says "Look, I'm not so bothered about days, just stay on him a few more nights". Kersek then suggests "Look would you like to resolve the situation? Well, I've got a suggestion. There are a few men that can be hired by me. To do a little job on Cady, a hospital job" and Sam asks "What are we talking about here?" and Kersek says "Two pieces of pipe and bicycle chain!". Sam laughs dismissively in gets in his car to drive off and Kersek says "Sam, he wont be so scary after that!". 

Then there is the scene where Sam meets with Kersek at his office in a state of desparation, he asks Kersek for a gun to defend himself against Cady.

So, in the scene, Sam rushes into Kersek's office and he says urgently "Kersek! I need a gun! Do you have a gun?! I need a gun!" and Kersek says "OK, OK, I'll get you a gun, just calm down". Kersek asks "Do you know anything about guns?" and Sam admits "No, I don't believe in them. I never had one around the house" and Kersek says "OK, let me see your hands?". So, Sam holds up his hands and Kersek makes a few guesses and says "A snub nosed special. I can teach you how to use it, afterwards we can go out and shoot some trees" and Sam says "Great!". Kersek then tells Sam "The first thing is you dont think of it as gun, just think of it as an extension of your fist, you reach and knock a man down! Boom!". 

Kersek however then has a change of heart and says "Look, Sam, you have a gun and pull it on Cady, before you know it, its gonna dawn on you that shooting a man is different than trees. Next thing, you don't have my gun, Cady does". Sam however insists "No, but you're gonna teach me how to use it..." and Kersek "OK! OK! Best case scenario, you kill Cady dog dead. 15 years to life, you realise that, counselor?".

Sam, deeply frustrated then explains that he must attend an emergency session that will deteremine the fate of his law career as a result of the botched assault on Cady and that Cady was wired when Sam threatened him prior to the attack. So, Kersek asks Sam "This hearing. Is it real important?" and Sam laughs and says "Only if I want to continue to practice law yeah!" and Kersek asks "Will Cady be there?" and Sam says "Oh no, Mr Cady is beyond reproach". Kersek then suggests "Cady is an opportunist. If he thinks you're gonna be out of town for two days that's gonna be as tempting to him as shit is to a fly! If Cady breaks into your home, he can be killed, justifiably. But he won't show unless he's real sure you're not gonna be there".

And last of all is the scene where Sam and Kersek steak out at Sam's home as they lay low and Sam expresses his concerns over their plan "You know what REALLY disturbs me, is killing this guy" and Kersek tells him "Well, you may have to". And Sam anxiously says "It makes me an abbettor, its also excessive force!". Kersek then tells Sam "Sam, the only excessive we could do to Cady is gut him and eat his liver! Well that MIGHT be excessive" and Sam says "Oh, for Chrissake's Kersek, I'm serious!". So, Kersek says to Sam "No, you're scared. But that's okay. I want you to savor that fear. The South evolved in fear; fear of the Indian, fear of the slave, fear of the damn Union. The South has a fine tradition of savoring fear". 

Illeana Douglas next is also excellent in her role as Lori, a young female courthouse clerk that Sam is friendly with and is later assaulted by Cady to get at Sam. 

And I will mention a couple of Illeana's scenes starting with her first scene in the film where after a game of squash together, Sam warns Lori that perhaps they should stop meeting each other.

So, Sam says to Lori "You know, we should stop doing this for a while" and Lori asks "Doing what? I mean we're not anything!" and Sam says "Yeah, I know" and Lori says "Yet! OK fine maybe you're right. Why does your wife mind?" and Sam says "Well, my wife doesn't know you exist, which is probably for the best!". Lori then teases Sam and asks "Why? Is marriage synonymous with deception?" and Sam tries awkwardly to explain his married situation in relation to seeing Lori. Lori however diffuses Sam a little by saying "I like hanging out with you! So, sue me! I mean you're funny and cute. And we talk about the courts and which judge is senile and which one wears a gun under his robe". 

Then there is the scene where Lori meets Cady in a bar and the two of flirt and chat together with Lori getting pretty drunk. 

So, in the scene, Lori is already pretty drunk and Cady smiles and says to her "You seem to be having a good time" and Lori laughs and says "I've been practicing!" and Cady says "For what? Falling on the floor?" and Lori says "A life of debauchery". Cady then asks "Debau what??" and Lori says "A life of debauchery. Its a three syllabyl word!" and Cady grins and says "Making fun of me? Its ok, no problem". 

So, Lori asks Cady where he is from and he explains he just got released from prison and Lori burst out laughing and says "Oh, my god! This is the way my day has been turning out!". Lori then says "It reminds me of a joke, you wanna hear it?" and Cady says "Tell me, liven up the night!". Lori then says OK. So, an unmarried woman...wait that's not it" and Cady teases her "C'mon, get the joke straight, darlin!". So, Lori then get's it right and says "An unmarried woman, meets a guy and he tells her he just got out of prison. "What did you do?" she asks and he says "I hacked my wife into 52 pieces with a chainsaw" which prompts racuous laughter from Cady. So, Lori continues the joke and says "And then she says "So, you're single?" and Cady laughs and says "That's even funnier!". 

Lori then asks Cady "What did you do?" and Cady jokes with her and says "I knew you were gonna say that. Well, I hacked MY wife into 52 pieces!" and he giggles and Lori says "I knew you were gonna say that! Well, I'm a small person, so maybe..." and Cady jokes and says "Well, maybe I could hack you into 40 pieces!". So, Lori then asks him "What did you do? Really?" and Cady tells her that he killed a sherrif who got rough with a woman on a protest march. So, Lori accepts his answer and says to Cady "Well, I'm drinking on sea breezes, so I hope you can afford them" and Cady tells her "Well, you gotta stay sober. If you don't stay sober, you're taking your chances because I am just one hell of an animal!" and Lori smiles and says in a flirty tone "Oh yeah? Do tell!".  

And last of all is Robert Mitchum who makes a small cameo appearance at the police Lieutenant Elgart. Mitchum of course appeared in the original 1962 version of the film as the main villain, Max Cady (as does Gregory Peck also in another cameo role).

So, I will quickly mention just one of Mitchum's scenes and its the one where after Sam fails to convince Lori to testify against, Elgart suggests loosely to Sam to use his family as bait to lure out Cady.

So, in the scene, Elgart says to Sam "Look, if this is something personal between you, the girl and Cady..." and Sam says "Alright, Lt, what are you implying?" and Elgart says "Only there are some things better handled quietly and not by the police". Sam mocks his suggestion and says "Cady is planning to rape my wife but its not your problem!" and Elgart says "I can't bust someone for planning to rape your wife! You're a lawyer, you know that damn well!". Elgar then suggests "The way I'd handle it. Just think of Cady as a tiger and get him out of the brush. How do you do that? You steak out a couple of your goats and hide in a tree". 

Sam is then offended by the notion that Elgart seems to imply that he should use his family as bait for Cady. So, Elgart backpedals and says "I am a law officer. It would be unethical of me to advise a citizen to take the law into their own hands. So, I guess you must have misunderstood me". Sam then sarcastically says "I guess I must have!" and he walks off to his car and Elgart a bit annoyed says "Well, pardon me all over the place!". 

DIRECTION

Finally moving onto the director, Martin Scorsese does a great job here with the remake as he notches the suspense and sense of unease very well throughout the film. Scorsese also makes great use of his technical skills as a film maker as he deploys a number of quick, fast cuts in certain scenes to heighten tension and he even uses film negatives at the start and end of the film as Danielle is introduced and the camera zooms out from her eyes and later at the end the camera zooms in. So, while its not one of Scorsese's greatest ever films overall, this is definitely still a strong directorial effort, which is easy to say given that his poor films are few and far between.

MUSIC 

As for the music score, it features the original score that was composed by the late great Bernard Herrmann, however the score was reworked for the film by the famous American composer, Elmer Bernstein and he does a great job with its re-score and it sounds great. The film's main theme itself is undoubtedly one of Herrman's most memorable from his career and it sounds great here in the remake as does the rest of the score itself.   

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!).

So, does Cape Fear have any flaws??? Yes there are some.  

For starters, I have to say it really bugs me just how Cady is so able to sneak in and out of the Bowden house undetected all the time and do some pretty intricate stuff like removing a piano wire from their piano (which he later uses to kill Kersek). And further to that, why does Cady have to go to the trouble of actually removing a piano wire in the first place??? Couldn't he just use another sort of wire or pick up something similar elsewhere rather than sneak in and steal the piano wire itself. 

Further to this point, Cady's ninja like stealth abilities really do become a bit preposterous when it comes to the steak out scenes with Sam and Kersek especially when Kersek uses Sam's fishing line to keep an eye on the patio doors. Basically, Cady must have found another way into the house e.g. maybe he tunneled his way in! Not only that but he has the lightning fast ability to disappear in his car in the blink of an eye when near the start of the film, Cady is seen staring at Sam from across the street in his Cadillac and he vanishes after a car passes by! So not only is this guy a stealth like ninja, he's also Harry Houdini, who can perform disappearing acts at will too!

It also bugged me as to how Cady knew to hire Lee Heller as a defense lawyer against Sam's arranged attack on him. This would suggest that Cady might even have bugged Sam's office to keep an eye on his communications within, which is pretty daft in itself as he surely would be seen by someone if that was case but then again he is stealthy ninja after all! However I still found a bit too coincidental that Cady would hire Heller just as Sam called up Heller to help him prosecute Cady.

And last of all there is the matter of Cady filing a restraining order against Sam, and in the order Sam is not allowed to come within 500 yards of Cady.  But regardless of this Cady still relentlessly pursues Sam in his house and to their house boat on the river, so isn't he violating the conditions of his OWN restraining order by doing this????  

And near the end of the film where Sam and Cady have their final fight on the shore of the river, and Sam hits Cady with a rock, Cady laughs dementedly and says "You forget about that restraining order, counselor??? You're well within 500 yards!!".  But Sam has spent all that time trying to get away from Cady, so obviously he isn't violating the restraining, its the other way round!  But at this point all logic goes out the window, and it is a Hollywood film after all I guess.

Anyways that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Cape Fear is an excellent remake of the original and it is very well acted by its cast and features solid direction from Martin Scorsese as well as fine sounding reworked score by Elmer Bernstein based on the original by Bernard Herrman. It does have some plot niggles however here and there but that aside, this is still a very entertaining and suspenseful film and a solid remake that is worth a look.

So, I will give Cape Fear a rating of:

8.5 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will see you in the next post.

Till then, bye for now!