CAPE FEAR - * * * - Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam; directed by Martin Scorsese; rated R (violence, profanity, sex, drugs); Century 9 Theaters, Cinemark Movies 9 Theaters, Cineplex Odeon Crossroads and Holladay Cinemas.
The original "Cape Fear," the 1962 version starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, is not generally viewed as a classic by most critics and certainly not held in the same high esteem as many other thrillers of the period. But it's always been a favorite of mine.Mitchum is utterly chilling as Max Cady, an ex-con who, upon his release from prison, heads for a small town to seek out the stoic, man-of-the-people attorney Sam Bowden (Peck). It seems Bowden testified against him and was the main instrument in Cady's being sent up the river for eight years. Putting on an amiable demeanor and carefully keeping within the boundries of the law, Cady begins a reign of subtle harrassment against Bowden (and his wife and teenage daughter) that slowly builds to a terrifying climax aboard a houseboat on a river during a storm.
In reworking the story with modern sensibilities, screenwriter Wesley Strick ("True Believer," "Arachnophobia") has made Cady more sadistic and Bowden less honorable, while director Martin Scorsese ("GoodFellas," "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver") has stylishly stirred everything into a frenzy that is at once visually stunning, gripping and intense, and more than a little disturbing.
He has also pulled some odd hat tricks on fans of the old film by featuring three of its stars (Mitchum, Peck and Martin Balsam) in cameos, and by having the original Bernard Herrmann musical score reworked by Elmer Bernstein.
The music is still tremendously effective - there was only one Bernard Herrmann. But the touch of class that Mitchum and Peck briefly bring to these proceedings undermines the film a bit, serving to remind us that while movies may be more technically correct these days, they lack something more important.
Still, there's no arguing that Scorsese has made the suspense genre his own, standing cliches on their heads, making subtle dark jokes here and there and building the thrills to an almost intolerable level during the final quarter.
All of the characters here are flawed - some more than others - with Nick Nolte as Bowden, Jessica Lange as his wife and Juliette Lewis as their daughter. Cady obnoxiously introduces himself to them at a local movie theater and then relentlessly pursues them, always staying well within his legal rights, or more than adequately covering their tracks.
This time, Cady has served 14 years, covered himself with tattoos and become a Bible-thumping, self-educated zealot with one purpose in life - revenge. In a way, however, Bowden has brought this on himself, revealing that he suppressed evidence when he represented Cady at his trial. He's also cheated on his wife in the past and is currently involved with a young legal assistant - though it is a platonic relationship. Naturally, Cady uses this information to discredit Bowden.
The sexual tension between Cady and Bowden's wife and daughter is more overt here than in the first film, though Scorsese has thankfully avoided getting into anything too explicit. And he's broken up the climax so that part of the lengthy final set-piece takes place at Bowden's home and part on the houseboat.
The cast is very good, including Mitchum, ironically playing the role of the town's top cop here. Nolte, Lange and Lewis all bring depth and perception to their roles.
But it is De Niro who will knock your socks off, in a role that hearkens back to some of his early work, as an intelligent psychotic who knows the rules and manages to violate every code of human decency while still keeping arm's-length from the law.
Also well represented are Scorsese's ever-present nods to religious symbolism, acknowledging the Catholic angst that always laces his films.
All of this adds up to a wild ride of a movie, with occasional lapses that seem exploitative and unnecessary (in particular a gory moment during a scene that has Cady beating and raping a young woman), and which provide the film with a deserved R rating (for violence, gore, sex, profanity and some marijuana smoking).
While I find myself still preferring the original film, there's no question that Scorsese has made a rip-snorting thriller that should satisfy anyone who enjoys grinding teeth and gripping the arms of the theater seats (or maybe the arms of the person sitting in the next chair).