He asks her if she thought about him last night and if he can put his arm around her. Pingback: Top 10: Robert De Niro Performances | Cinematic Visions. As if we are in Danielle’s shoes, we see it from her point of view. Why do you think Scorsese chose to make the violence so intense and bloody? Definitely one of Scorcese’s worst, if not for its appalling ending, and a forgettable screen appearance for De Niro as well! Nolte's North Carolina lawyer, Sam Bowden may have forgotten who De Niro's convicted rapist Max Cady is, but Max sure hasn't forgotten who he blames for his incarceration. When a former client of Sam’s is released from prison, things take a turn for the worse. Danielle is depicted as being rebellious, smoking pot and going against her parents wishes. ALSO READ | 'Choked' ending explained: How do Sarita and Sushant deal with their 'choked' treasure? It is a remake of the 1962 movie of the same name. However, Danielle throws a flammable liquid on Max causing his cigar to set him on fire. Cady is the main reason I prefer the original, but only just. Be the first to review this title. How Technology Is Reshaping Democracy and Our Lives, Participate in DigCit Week with your kid by using curated activities from Wide Open School, Online Playdates, Game Nights, and Other Ways to Socialize at a Distance, Keeping Kids Motivated for Online Learning, Set limits for violence and more with Plus, 5 Tips to Make Family Movie Night a Success. This was a rewatch for me and it held up surprisingly well. The New York Times review Danielle also smokes some pot given to her by Max. This sexual predator convincing her to do this unusual act of penetration. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Discussions from the world of film and TV. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! THE BIG CITY You can read so clearly both the embarrassment and joy she feels at receiving an older male’s attention. ZORBA THE GREEK Taking it easy during April until I can start up David Lynch/Twin Peaks month in May! On the technical side of things, the film is very impressive. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Wondering if Cape Fear is OK for your kids? Shoot. Either way, it’s an expertly crafted thriller with a lot to say about guilt and vengeance. It is a quiet scene that halts the action and stops the audience dead in their tracks with it’s lingering sexual uneasiness. Why did he include a rape scene? Scorsese is my favorite director, so I bet I will still like this version more, but we’ll see how it plays when I finally do see it. Just because Sam is a lawyer, not a criminal like him, does not make him a good man. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO In CAPE FEAR, lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) seemingly lives a comfortable life with his wife, Leigh (Jessica Lange) and daughter, Danielle (Juliette Lewis). Both De Niro and Lewis were Oscar nominated for their roles. The film opens with the narration of “My reminiscence. Sam and his family rent a boat on Cape Fear River, and Max follows them. It also adds a pedophiliac perversion to Max Cady’s already sexually deviant character. Couple that with the daughter being much younger in the original (she’s only 13) the character really does make your skin crawl. Can you understand why he did? The pacing is pretty good throughout, until we get to the end where the climax goes on for a bit too long. He lays on the accent very thick, I’m talking Pacino in Scarface levels of accent here, and he’s screaming over half of the time. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) has learned the law in prison, and believes he was inadequately defended by Sam. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Top 10: Robert De Niro Performances | Cinematic Visions. During a storm a boat crashes into rocks and subsequently falls apart. Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. Though I like the Scorsese film a lot, I do prefer the original. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Join now. When the only thing to fear on those enchanted summer nights was that the magic would end and real life would come crashing in.”. A character is referred to as "white trash" on multiple occasions. Here was a girl just on the cusp of dealing with newly sexual feelings manipulated by this evil man. It's only a local election, but don't forget to vote! BRAVEHEART, "How 'bout you go to the movies with me tonight? That is until Max Cady (Robert De Niro) a newly released convict -- who Sam defended 14 years ago -- turns up determined to exact revenge. An older character behaves inappropriately with a 15-year-old, pushing their thumb into their mouth and kissing them. The thumb-sucking moment is a genius idea of De Niro. Thank you for your support. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. What to Watch, Read, and Play While Your Kids Are Stuck Indoors, Common Sense Selections for family entertainment, Stoke kids' love of reading with great summer stories, Check out new Common Sense Selections for games, Teachers: Find the best edtech tools for your classroom with in-depth expert reviews, 6 formas de usar los medios para que los niños mantengan el español, Wide Open School: recursos para el aprendizaje a distancia, Which Side of History? ( Log Out /  Convicted rapist Max Cady (De Niro) blames his former lawyer, Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), for his incarceration and is determined to make him pay. The violence is full-on and the sense of danger -- including a constant threat of sexual violence -- is deliberately unsettling. We really see how fantastic Juliette Lewis is at portraying this young girl. It emerges they were then raped. Though the original is much slower, I found it infinitely more disturbing due to how Cady is portrayed. It is suspected at several points that Cady is covertly entering the Bowden household. Leigh is a strong woman who despite having a difficult relationship with her daughter, Danielle, would do anything to protect her. He can be the one adult that really listens to her because he knows what she’s going through. John Huston. I seem to remember it going on a bit too long. A character's throat is slit with a piano wire before being shot -- they are seen lying in a giant pool of their own blood. Multiple references and suggestions of rape. After being released, Max heads straight to Sam's town to exact 14 years worth of payback. Discuss the idea that everyone deserves a fair trial. Roger Ebert review. Cape Fear movie shows how a man can turn in his wildest possible version and wreak havoc all around him. He also behaves aggressively towards his wife and daughter as the pressure of his situation gets to him. Reviewing all Oscar nominees (not just the winners) in one year. Characters threaten violence, including sexual violence. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. It’s a strange paradox; the good man is full of guilt while the evil man is full of righteous anger. The actor was rewarded with an Oscar nomination, as was Lewis as the rebellious Danielle -- the most likable of all the characters. We won't share this comment without your permission. The real life that comes crashing in happens towards the end of the film, when she realizes who that charming man turned out to be. On the face of it, Sam is a family man who takes his job as a lawyer seriously. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. The Bernard Hermann score too is amazing, I just think they could have done so much more with the ending as I’m sure you’ll agree. Like that film, Cape Fear is essentially an updated film noir exploring the guilt of the seemingly good main character. I haven’t seen the original, but from what I’ve read this remake both updates and complicates the themes of the 1962 film. L'ATALANTE Still haven’t seen the original unfortunately. It shows how easy adults can manipulate young girls sexually. Even those characters on the receiving end have behaved questionably, be it tampering with a court case, taking drugs, having a borderline affair, and arranging their own act of retribution. ( Log Out /  A description of an "erection" from a book is retold. Contemporary Movie Reviews and Weekly Top 5s. That is until Max Cady (Robert De Niro) a newly released convict -- who Sam defended 14 years ago -- turns up determined to exact revenge. Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear is an interesting film, maybe more so than it originally seems. The only film from him that I actively dislike is Gangs of New York, but even on that one I need a rewatch. Good and evil (which seems to be the conflict in the 1962 film) is warped into guilty and wronged. It is Danielle’s narration that opens and closes Cape Fear, and the film can be viewed viewed through her relationship with Cady even more so than Sam Bowden’s. With its dramatic score to a shirtless, heavily-tattooed De Niro exercising in his prison cell, the mood for this violent revenge thriller is set in its opening scene. She has her arm broken and part of her cheek bitten off leaving a nasty wound. What effect does it have on the movie overall? Sam didn’t defend him as best he could, which is what the law demands and his profession promises. His moral become more and more compromised as he tries to keep Cady away from his family. ( Log Out /  Many characters smoke, with Sam taking up smoking during the course of the movie. )appearance in this movie. Thanks! See our. But that moment was completely off-the-cuff. Max has entered Danielle’s school, posing as her new drama teacher. James Gray, THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951), dir. The end of her innocence was approaching (After all, her father declares in the film that “she’s not a child anymore”) and thusly ended in reign of Max Cady’s terror over her family. See something that needs to be addressed? Sam knows it, too; you can tell he’s guilty. Kid, the next time I say, "Let's go someplace like Bolivia," let's GO someplace like Bolivia. Juliette Lewis is the real standout here, conveying a sense of naivete and experience at the same time. However, it soon emerges that he is on the cusp of having an affair with a colleague -- it's also suggested he has been unfaithful in the past -- and has also buried some evidence in an earlier court case. I could have sworn the character’s name was Sykes, but it has been a few years since I’ve seen Night of the Hunter.