Film Review - Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear is the 1991 remake by director Martin Scorsese and stars Robert de Niro as Max Cady, a felon recently released from prison after serving 14 years for a rape charge, but like Khan in Star Trek II, he's had a long time to wait for vengeance against the man who caused his wrongs and he'll chase him round the houses of New Essex and round the streets of town and round the Cape of Fear before he'll give him up.

This version of Cape Fear by Scorsese interested me after seeing the trailer, I mean it had de Niro in the key role plus it had the two chief actors from the original 1962 version (Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum) in small roles, very clever on his move but at the same time I also couldn't shake the ghost of the pitch perfect Simpsons parody of this story with Sideshow Bob that has me in stitches whenever I watch it so does this version escape those long shadows?

Well for the most part I do think that it does, Scorsese directs the film beautifully with his fluid camera moves and nice use of widescreen framing that would've been murdered in the 4:3 transfers used for the film's video release in late 1992, de Niro is also very good as Cady and plays it as the man we all imagine, a man who was waited a long time for his vengeance against Bowden (Nick Nolte) and will make sure that he does far worse than kill him, but hurt him as well as leave him where he left him.

But the positive vibes don't end there as most of the cast also perform well with Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Fred Dalton Thompson, Peck and Mitchum all putting good performances and the late Elmer Bernstein creates a tense and dramatic musical score that is certain to either send a shiver up your spine or make you think of Sideshow Bob or possibly both.

But unfortunately for all of those strengths the film has one big weakness to counteract all of this good work and that is the casting of Nolte and frankly he is miscast in this role, the whole reason this story has a real impact is that all of this terribleness is happening to a good man who did nothing wrong but Nolte doesn't project that vibe, its rumoured Harrison Ford was considered for his part and boy did I wish he was able to do it as Ford can project a natural empathy to audiences and we care about him from the first moment we see him on screen, that kind of quality would've worked beautifully in this role and given this version of the story the impact it needed.

But all in all, this Scorsese remake is not without merit as there is a lot to like but the central casting flaw almost kills it, 2 and a half out of 5.