In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Cape Fear (1991)

I can almost see why Scorsese would want to remake such a classic—he wouldn't be restrained by the same kind of moral restrictions as before—but the end result isn't as good as it could've been. He goes to great lengths to show that film has moved on from when the original was made, employing a multitude of techniques that almost overwhelm the story.
If the relationships of the family unit were more believable they might have balanced it out more evenly, but there’s something missing from the performances of both Nolte and Lange. Lewis fares better, though, and like Mitchum before him De Niro as the Max Cady character is the main reason to watch. The finale is balls, but everything he does prior to it is great.
Mitchum gets a small role and there’s a cameo from Gregory Peck, both of whom starred in the original film (1962).

3½ prison skills out of 5

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