Les Nerfs à vif

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!

Scorsese inherited this project from Steven Spielberg when the two swapped films. Spielberg got Schindler's List and Scorsese got Cape Fear. It would've been interesting to see how it would've turned out the other way around. As it turns out, Cape Fear is a film that follows Scorsese's usual themes, mainly guilt. Nick Nolte suffers from it, and Robert DeNiro helps to amplify the guilt. He attacks Nolte indirectly, letting Nolte inflict the most damaging on himself. In order to fight this loon, Nolte has to sink to his level, which is what DeNiro's Max Cady wanted. Scorsese's use of the camera is fluid and always moving. Those slow zooms on Cady, the whip cuts from one scene to another and the whole end sequence is a doozy. Bernard Herrman's great score is pumped through your speakers in Dolby sound and gives the film, a proper level of menace. Watch this instead of "The Fan." You won't be disappointed.

Even though Robert DeNiro was nominated for Best Actor for this Martin Scorsese directed remake of Cape Fear, my heart is still with the original. The multi-tattooed voluminous DeNiro is far less menacing than Robert Mitchum was in the original.

One thing Scorsese did was change the billing to reflect the importance of the characters. Mitchum was billed second to Gregory Peck, the upright attorney who Mitchum threatened and stalked along with Peck's family. Then again Peck was producing the original Cape Fear so of course he was first billed.

Part of the problem was that with some 20 to 30 minutes additional running time Scorsese used it to make his characters a bit more complex. DeNiro was a real basket case as Max Cady in this one whereas Robert Mitchum was just plain no good.

Nick Nolte plays attorney Sam Bowden and he's also far more complex and not such a good guy. In the original film Peck was an attorney, but he was a witness in the trial that convicted Cady of rape. Here he was Cady's attorney and he tanked the case because Cady was such a psycho he deserved to be behind bars. Cady in fact does have a grudge of sorts against him. And it's not good to get a psycho mad at you.

Also Peck and his whole family which consisted of Polly Bergen and Lori Martin back in the original was your basic all American white bread family. Their very wholesomeness made the scope of Mitchum stalking them all the more frightening.

Nolte and Jessica Lange have marital problems and their daughter Juliette Lewis is not Mary Poppins. Not that they deserved what DeNiro was going to do to them, but it does blunt the impact of the scope of his evil.

Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, and Martin Balsam from the original cast all played supporting parts here. But while the film that Scorsese did is a good one, their presence made me all the more hunger for the original.

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.

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.