There are many collaborations between directors and actors that are familiar to audiences, but none more so than those of Scorcese and De Niro. These two have given us some of the most sublime entertainment available. Their collaborations have produced movies no less than Taxi Driver' and Raging Bull'. Although this one did not achieve the lofty heights of these two, it was still one of the most memorable movies to come out of 1991.
This year was also the year of Terminator 2' and The Silence Of The Lambs'. Big movies like this released around the same time can diminish other top movies which may not achieve the mass audience attention of its competitors. Notwithstanding this fact, for me, Cape Fear' was more memorable than Silence Of The Lambs' The reasons are numerous, but it mostly appealed to me because of the way Scorcese fully utilises the language of the movies.
The language of movies, from my point of view, involves utilising images, sounds and the actor's ability to relay a particular emotion, theme or element of the story. The first example of this is within the rolling of the credits. We have the image of still water over which booms an ominous track and we see dark shadows in the shape of a man. This sets the tone for the movie perfectly. The serene family life of our heroes is about to be viciously disrupted by a malevolent man who has overbearing power. This is carried on over the next two scenes, which is far more on the nose' than the opening credits. We see Juliette Lewis nervously delivering her oral English class project. Her final line leads us to the next scene where reality comes crashing in' in the form of De Niro who is up until the last minute preparing himself for the battle ahead. As he leaves the prison, a storm is approaching symbolising the approaching terror for the family. This message is further accentuated by De Niro walking right up to the camera. The storm finally crashes in on Nolte on the river in the form of a squall heralding De Niro's boarding of his boat. It dies down during the rolling of the final credits as the storm subsides following the death of De Niro.
Another example of the language of film is where Lewis runs into her room following the witnessing of an argument between her parents. She puts on her earphones to listen to Guns and Roses' Patience', but the video that is playing is one by Janes addiction' showing someone shoplifting a paradox. This is a favoured tactic by Scorcese who always likes to create paradoxical images. This makes it more interesting for the audience as sometimes these types of images do hold some meaning for the story. In one scene Lewis is again watching TV where a woman methodically covers her eyes with her hands. This symbolised the shielding from the world that Nolte was doing with great fervour as the threat from De Niro became more ominous. The audience is drawn into the movie as they try to identify images that may relay a message for them. Although this was done in Silence Of The Lambs' with the theme of the degrading of American society, Scorcese has much more artistic flair for this and demonstrates it.
The acting is strong throughout, but two stand out above the rest. The first one is Robert De Niro and the other is Juliette Lewis. De Niro is deservedly renowned as one the greatest actors ever. He is the complete actor and fully immerses himself with the character. He not only takes on the personality of the character, but physically adapts himself. His collaborations with Scorcese are prime examples of this. In Cape Fear', Max Cady prepares himself for his vengeful plan against Nolte. He develops himself to be an angel of vengeance by strengthening his body and using it as a means to deliver messages to his enemies by way of tattoos. The tattoos were not real, but I am sure that they would have adorned his body throughout most of the production of the movie - a trail in dedication. De Niro has now taken the portrayal of Cady more than one step further. He is now the character in mind as well as body. This far exceeds the usual blockbuster ploy of employing an actor who has mass box office appeal rather than casting an actor who can bring the character to life and add substance to the story.
Cady has also developed his mind, but he could not fully escape years of neglect. De Niro realistically relays by way of incorrect usage of words. His tattoos indicate his fanatical devotion to revenge. The righteousness that Cady experiences through the realisation of the betrayal by his lawyer, translates itself into religious fanaticism as he seeks to punish the sinner who suppressed one of Gods children. This never subsides as Cady faces his end and whilst sinking, he leers at his foe, hatred carried in life and through till death.
His past life is used to advantage as he is able to use his experience as a con man to destabilise the fragile family by identifying their weaknesses and targeting them. He upsets the wife by killing her dog and also by launching a hideous attack on the object of one of Nolte's infidelities. He takes advantage of the rebellious stage in the life of Lewis. She is also at the door of sexual sensibility. Cady utilises these two elements of her teenage life during the scene where they meet each other at the drama set.
The top accolade may go to De Niro, but Lewis did not pale too much by comparison. When considering her comparative experience, we realise the magnitude of her achievement. Lewis was consistent with her performance and was able to realistically portray the girl at the brink of womanhood. She never faltered once and even her eyes were in tandem with the moment. She had grasped the emotion that the director wanted. No mean feat for an actress of this age. Her character was a perfect target for De Niro, as she was not strong enough to stand up to the persuasive con man. She had weaknesses as a consequence of her life stage which further diminished her in relation to De Niro.
The editing in the first half an hour presented a story which did not flow and seemed choppy. Whether this was due to pressure by the producers to shorten the movie or a conscious effort by the director to show the spiral that the characters were entering would be immaterial since story flow is paramount in keeping audiences attention uninterrupted and giving continuity to the story. On second viewing this problem becomes more evident. It indicates an attempt at showing the audience the complexities of the characters which would create conflict during the movie. It is always difficult in criticising a director as acclaimed as Scorcese, but attention to this problem would have led to the creation of an almost perfect movie.
Italian directors always have a yearning to explore the extremities of violence and sex in movies. This may be due to the fact that they may feel that to explore these areas is to fully exploit their emotions and to leave themselves bare to their chosen art form. Scorcese definitely portrays the extremities of violence in this movie, but it is not out of place with the character. De Niro is a depraved, vicious man who is completely devoted to revenge and wants to dehumanise his oppressor by making him experience what it is like to be an animal as he was in prison. The psychological exploits by Cady are not overawed by these scenes, but supplement them by visually revealing his hellish intent and dedication.
The fear of a stalker is a fear deep set into many members of the audience. The feeling of helplessness pervades as we sense a powerful presence, but cannot see it. The unseen is terrifying since we know something is there, but cannot locate it and we anticipate the forthcoming attack. When this fear consumes us within the confines of our own home, the fear reveals the person that we are and we will either stand and fight or run for our lives. Even the weaker ones like Nolte will have to stop running and face their foe. Scorcese knows this fear uses it to give impetus to the story.
This year was also the year of Terminator 2' and The Silence Of The Lambs'. Big movies like this released around the same time can diminish other top movies which may not achieve the mass audience attention of its competitors. Notwithstanding this fact, for me, Cape Fear' was more memorable than Silence Of The Lambs' The reasons are numerous, but it mostly appealed to me because of the way Scorcese fully utilises the language of the movies.
The language of movies, from my point of view, involves utilising images, sounds and the actor's ability to relay a particular emotion, theme or element of the story. The first example of this is within the rolling of the credits. We have the image of still water over which booms an ominous track and we see dark shadows in the shape of a man. This sets the tone for the movie perfectly. The serene family life of our heroes is about to be viciously disrupted by a malevolent man who has overbearing power. This is carried on over the next two scenes, which is far more on the nose' than the opening credits. We see Juliette Lewis nervously delivering her oral English class project. Her final line leads us to the next scene where reality comes crashing in' in the form of De Niro who is up until the last minute preparing himself for the battle ahead. As he leaves the prison, a storm is approaching symbolising the approaching terror for the family. This message is further accentuated by De Niro walking right up to the camera. The storm finally crashes in on Nolte on the river in the form of a squall heralding De Niro's boarding of his boat. It dies down during the rolling of the final credits as the storm subsides following the death of De Niro.
Another example of the language of film is where Lewis runs into her room following the witnessing of an argument between her parents. She puts on her earphones to listen to Guns and Roses' Patience', but the video that is playing is one by Janes addiction' showing someone shoplifting a paradox. This is a favoured tactic by Scorcese who always likes to create paradoxical images. This makes it more interesting for the audience as sometimes these types of images do hold some meaning for the story. In one scene Lewis is again watching TV where a woman methodically covers her eyes with her hands. This symbolised the shielding from the world that Nolte was doing with great fervour as the threat from De Niro became more ominous. The audience is drawn into the movie as they try to identify images that may relay a message for them. Although this was done in Silence Of The Lambs' with the theme of the degrading of American society, Scorcese has much more artistic flair for this and demonstrates it.
The acting is strong throughout, but two stand out above the rest. The first one is Robert De Niro and the other is Juliette Lewis. De Niro is deservedly renowned as one the greatest actors ever. He is the complete actor and fully immerses himself with the character. He not only takes on the personality of the character, but physically adapts himself. His collaborations with Scorcese are prime examples of this. In Cape Fear', Max Cady prepares himself for his vengeful plan against Nolte. He develops himself to be an angel of vengeance by strengthening his body and using it as a means to deliver messages to his enemies by way of tattoos. The tattoos were not real, but I am sure that they would have adorned his body throughout most of the production of the movie - a trail in dedication. De Niro has now taken the portrayal of Cady more than one step further. He is now the character in mind as well as body. This far exceeds the usual blockbuster ploy of employing an actor who has mass box office appeal rather than casting an actor who can bring the character to life and add substance to the story.
Cady has also developed his mind, but he could not fully escape years of neglect. De Niro realistically relays by way of incorrect usage of words. His tattoos indicate his fanatical devotion to revenge. The righteousness that Cady experiences through the realisation of the betrayal by his lawyer, translates itself into religious fanaticism as he seeks to punish the sinner who suppressed one of Gods children. This never subsides as Cady faces his end and whilst sinking, he leers at his foe, hatred carried in life and through till death.
His past life is used to advantage as he is able to use his experience as a con man to destabilise the fragile family by identifying their weaknesses and targeting them. He upsets the wife by killing her dog and also by launching a hideous attack on the object of one of Nolte's infidelities. He takes advantage of the rebellious stage in the life of Lewis. She is also at the door of sexual sensibility. Cady utilises these two elements of her teenage life during the scene where they meet each other at the drama set.
The top accolade may go to De Niro, but Lewis did not pale too much by comparison. When considering her comparative experience, we realise the magnitude of her achievement. Lewis was consistent with her performance and was able to realistically portray the girl at the brink of womanhood. She never faltered once and even her eyes were in tandem with the moment. She had grasped the emotion that the director wanted. No mean feat for an actress of this age. Her character was a perfect target for De Niro, as she was not strong enough to stand up to the persuasive con man. She had weaknesses as a consequence of her life stage which further diminished her in relation to De Niro.
The editing in the first half an hour presented a story which did not flow and seemed choppy. Whether this was due to pressure by the producers to shorten the movie or a conscious effort by the director to show the spiral that the characters were entering would be immaterial since story flow is paramount in keeping audiences attention uninterrupted and giving continuity to the story. On second viewing this problem becomes more evident. It indicates an attempt at showing the audience the complexities of the characters which would create conflict during the movie. It is always difficult in criticising a director as acclaimed as Scorcese, but attention to this problem would have led to the creation of an almost perfect movie.
Italian directors always have a yearning to explore the extremities of violence and sex in movies. This may be due to the fact that they may feel that to explore these areas is to fully exploit their emotions and to leave themselves bare to their chosen art form. Scorcese definitely portrays the extremities of violence in this movie, but it is not out of place with the character. De Niro is a depraved, vicious man who is completely devoted to revenge and wants to dehumanise his oppressor by making him experience what it is like to be an animal as he was in prison. The psychological exploits by Cady are not overawed by these scenes, but supplement them by visually revealing his hellish intent and dedication.
The fear of a stalker is a fear deep set into many members of the audience. The feeling of helplessness pervades as we sense a powerful presence, but cannot see it. The unseen is terrifying since we know something is there, but cannot locate it and we anticipate the forthcoming attack. When this fear consumes us within the confines of our own home, the fear reveals the person that we are and we will either stand and fight or run for our lives. Even the weaker ones like Nolte will have to stop running and face their foe. Scorcese knows this fear uses it to give impetus to the story.