Les Nerfs à vif

Sent to jail for a crime he did commit, a newly released felon has some pain he's to inflict, on the lawyer that defended him, who gave him many years, for the scars of his internment that he carries and he wears, stalking his prey without cover or disguise, the family of Sam Bowden see their world start to capsize, a vengeance full of hate, a psychopath intent, many years of brewing, chewing, digest and ferment.

Robert De Nero delivers a tremendous performance as Max Cady who leaves you under no illusion of the torture he intends to inflict, psychological and physical, on the family of the man responsible for his incarceration. Nick Nolte plays Nick Nolte, not quite as elegantly as Gregory Peck.

Last night on TV there was "Casino" and today "Cape Fear" so I decided to take a look again at those two Scorsese movies. What I remembered from first viewing of "Cape Fear", about 8 years ago, is that that was one scary movie. I was only a kid back then, but even after all these years I felt again that this movie gives great doze of fear. Mostly it is because of brilliant portrayal coming from Robert De Niro (Max Cady is definitely not kind of guy who you wanna meet) and great Martin Scorsese ability to 'manufacture' terrifying scenes (for example when Nolte is hiding behind trash cans and when De Niro says: 'Counselor, could you be there?' - that one reminded me of Walter Hill's "The Warriors" and Luther in the same movie). Scorsese + De Niro (his all time favorite) never fails to deliver when they have as good script as this. Here, there is relationship between lawyers and clients, parents and children; also law in America is comprehended, where are holes in system, what can or cannot man do to protect his family and so on. I also read some of the comments that compare this one with the original and spits on this movie. To those people I say that this is an Oscar winning picture for some remakes I have seen in my life. If Mitchum and Peck (stars from the original) gave their blessing why can't you? So, I advise you to take a look at this Scorsese picture because it's scary, with Hitchcock elements and great acting coming from all actors involved. This is a great horror/thriller!!!

Robert De Niro is one of those actors that just melts into a role. His performance as rapist, convict, and all-around not-a-very-nice fellow Max Cady is certainly one of his most memorable performances for its stamina, strength, and excessiveness. The film by Martin Scorsece is a remake of the classic film starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck. Although Scorsece keeps the spirit of the film intact, he does make some very modern changes. He changes the role of Sam Bowden and family from one of harmony to dysfunction. No character is the epitome of a universal good, but rather flawed(very flawed) goodness. Nick Nolte does a fine job as Bowden and Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis both give deep, emotional performances. The film is really a sea of emotion...most of that emotion being fear. Scorsece adds some arty touches with the camera, but it is his gritty style that really dominates the film's impact. Scorsece also is ever the protector of film as he gives cameos to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, and Martin Balsam(all in the original film). The other acting standout goes to Joe Don Baker as a hired private investigator. But make no mistake....this is De Niro's film all the way. He has some of the best lines as he harasses the Bowden family, terrorizes the Bowden family, and strips the Bowden family of all civility, pretense, and dignity. This film is definitely a keeper!

Martin Scorcese's filmography as director is one of the most accomplished in modern film history. While Cape Fear can't even hold a candle next to "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas", it is still a fabulous remake of the 1962 noir classic and it keeps the viewer on the edge right through until the closing credits.

Robert De Niro (in yet another brilliant teaming with Scorcese behind the camera) plays Max Cady, a psychopathic rapist who was sent to jail 14 years earlier for such crimes. He leaves prison with vengeance. Not for his victims or his prosecutor, but his defence councillor, Sam J. Bowden, played by Nick Nolte. It seems Bowden did not defend Cady to the best of his ability. Cady knows this and wants some payback.

Cady's initial return into Bowden's life could not have come at a worse time. Bowden has been forced to move his family to Florida after his infidelities threatened his marriage and career. His wife is distrustful and worst of all, Bowden is on the verge of beginning another affair with a female workmate. Added to that, his daughter is at the difficult age of 15.

Almost by ozmosis, Cady understands these problems in the Bowden household and acts on them. He begins terrorising Bowden and his whole family, taking it from one extreme to the next.

What makes Cape Fear such a good film is the rapidly increasing sense of claustrophobia. Scorcese makes a point of using almost only close up shots towards the end of the film. It is a great touch that makes the viewer that much more scared as the film goes on.

Along with that, Robert De Niro is superb as Cady. Only occasionally does the role slip into parody. Mostly he is expertly evil.

Nick Nolte is good if not great, the same for Jessica Lange as Leigh Bowden. It seems as if they were void of any great lines in this film, which is unfortunate given their immense talent. Julliette Lewis is absolutely brilliant as the young daughter, Danielle. She slips effortlessly between curious sexual awakenings, rebellious teen and straight thinking woman. Add in small roles for Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck (the leads of the 1962 version) and you have a great ensemble cast.

So not the best Scorcese film ever, but some tight editing, great camerawork, a haunting theme and devilishly over-the-top acting help make this a frighteningly fun movie to watch. Strongly recommended.

Cape Fear (1991)

**** (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese's remake of the 1962 Gregory Peck/Robert Mitchum thriller has a flaw here and there but overall I feel it's one of the best of its kind and the director's most underrated film. Robert DeNiro plays the crazy ex-con out to seek revenge on the lawyer (Nick Nolte) who he feels misrepresented him. This was the first Scorsese/DeNiro film I ever watched and it made me the die-hard fan I am today. I saw this thing four times in the theater and only God knows how many times since then but it remains one of my favorite thrillers as I feel the director hits all the right notes when it comes to the suspense but he also sprinkles in some very dark humor as well. DeNiro is simply wonderful in his role and comes off very threatening and at times downright scary. Nolte and Jessica Lange also turn in strong performances as does Juliette Lewis. Peck, Mitchum, Martin Balsam and Joe Don Baker also add great support. It's strange but I still remember the four screenings of this in the theater and I remember them quite vividly. I still remember all the suspense and terror that was running throughout the theater and all of this came back as I picked this film to show my buddy and our dates. The film went over very well with them but it also worked extremely well for me even after all these viewings. The stakeout scene towards the end remains one of the most suspenseful scenes from any movie I've seen but there's also the equally disturbing scene where DeNiro goes to visit Lewis at school. I also gave the original film four stars but overall I prefer this remake. The original was pretty much good guy Peck versus bad guy Mitchum, which was a lot of fun but I like the changes made to the story here. We've got the evil DeNiro against the bad boy Nolte. I like the fact that Nolte's character wasn't very likable and I enjoyed the changes that made the wife and daughter connect to DeNiro's character. The level of strong characters in classic Scorsese film's in here to be seen and with the strong performances this just adds to the overall greatness.