Review by Smash of Smashing Through Life
Wow, what a wild ride this movie is. Going into it I had some preconceived notions about what was going to happen based on numerous cultural references, most notably the episode of The Simpsons that parodied it. But I was still pleasantly surprised. Mostly by Scorsese’s pacing, it was a lot quicker than I expected, but also by De Niro’s character. The thing that struck me the most was how intelligent and balanced Max Cady was despite his warped morality and misplaced sense of justice. I was expecting a lunatic stalker, but I got something much more complex and it was immensely gratifying.
Max Cady was driven, determined, clever, manipulative, and even charming at times. De Niro crafted a truly frightening psychopath with a deeply polarizing nature. He gives us a perfect marriage of creepy subtlety and unrestrained violence. Max may have high-brow aspirations, but he’ll seemingly always stumble over his aggressive baser instincts. De Niro wields his physicality deftly in this role, using it for brutish intimidation at times and non-threatening passivity at others. We see him overthrow three men who were hired to give him a vicious beating with raw fury and strength, and then go on to use the severe appearance of the injuries sustained to convey helpless victimization in the courtroom the following day. His cunning is impressive. In that moment he reveals himself a dangerous enemy to have, both physically and mentally.
De Niro is intimidating, unpredictable, and utterly captivating in this role. A formidable on screen presence. I rate it a solid…
Great work here Smash! Cape Fear has had a few critics in its time, from not being as good as the original to DeNiro being a bit of a cartoon, over-the-top, villain. Personally, I loved it. I thought Scorsese kept things moving and built the suspense masterfully and Cady is one of my all time favourite performances from DeNiro. I thought he was absolutely superb. So intimidating and brutal. One of the screen’s best villains in my eyes.
Thanks Mark! I agree with you 100%. I don’t think he was over the top or cartoonish at all. I think he delivered exactly what was needed to sell this remake and rehash the fear.
Great write up Smash! Another one I haven’t seen but really need to check out.
Thanks dude! This one will keep you on your toes the whole way through, that’s for sure.
I remember the first time I watched this I was in my teens and it scared the absolute shit out of me.
Haha! I was in that very same boat. DeNiro totally freaked me out, man!
He’s really scary in this! Especially in the scene where he’s acting the sexual predator with the daughter, pretending to be her drama teacher. That was super creepy.
This movie is so classic that both the Simpsons and WWF both paid homages to it. If thats not a sign of 90s pop culture relevance, I don’t know what is.
You haven’t made it until the Simpsons have poked fun at you or Weird Al has parodied your music, lol.
Nicely done, Smash!!! This is a great movie even if it does have Juliette Lewis in it. That part where Nick Nolte goes wallowing around in blood was very unexpected…. and cool : )
Thanks EI! I had fun watching this one. The murder in the kitchen with all that blood… I wasn’t really expecting that but it was awesome.
This is one De Niro turn that’s grown in stature over the years I think. It’s a more brutal performance than Mitchum’s in the original but is no less layered. The sheer nature of Cady means you have to play him big. Great write up.
Thank you! I agree with you, I think De Niro had to go fully unhinged to do this role justice.
I can’t remember if I saw this one or not, but I need to see it again if I did or see it if I didn’t.
Jessica Lange pre-American Horror Story as well 🙂 LOL
I strongly urge you to go check it out. I love Jessica Lange, she’s an absolute doll.
How could I resist now 🙂
I’ll have a look to see if it is on Netflix over here in the morning. Thank you
Good review. My exact sentiments. Also, the rest of the case was superb, as well. This movie is top-notch all across the board.
Thanks Gary! I don’t know why your comment made me think of this… but I would be very interesting in Max Cady vs. Hannibal Lecter debate!
Both Anthony Hopkins and DeNiro were nominated the same year for these roles. Sadly, DeNiro lost out but I would have given him it.
That is a very difficult match-up, that’s for damn sure. If I were on the academy, I probably would have voted for De Niro myself. Mostly because he did way more acting He literally had way more screen time in Cape Fear than Hopkins did in Silence of the Lambs. And he actually filed his teeth down! That’s worth an award or two for sure.
Nice review. I have to admit while DeNiro is excellent, I thought Cape Fear was mediocre and not up there with Scorsese’s high standards. Still very tense and strong at parts.
Yeah, I was actually surprised when I found out that this one was directed by Scorsese. It didn’t really seem like his bag to me.
Reblogged this on Smashing Through Life! and commented:
Check it out dudes, this is my contribution to the excellent blogathon that Mark and Tyson have been running over at You Talkin’ to Me? It’s a great blog that chronicles Robert De Niro’s illustrious career. Read my review if you like, and please check out more of the entries. They’ve all been so superb!
Great review here. I absolutely love this film, the tension it builds, the performance from De Niro, the direction etc; it’s all great.
Those tattoos make him look crazy.
Really have to revisit this one again, must have been at least 15 years since I last saw it and except for the big bad wolf bit there is not much I can remember.
Excellent review. 🙂 But I still absolutely hated this movie. Can I say that here? Am I banned?? 😉
You’re banned!! 😉
: ( lol! Raging Bull is better than Cape Fear…
You’re double banned! 😉