Includes spoilers.
Back in its heyday, The Simpsons was one of the greatest television shows of all time, and I’m here to talk about one of its greatest episodes of all time, Cape Fe–
*checks notes*
Ah, wrong Cape Feare. Well then, let me talk about the movie that inspired the beloved Simpsons episode, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 thriller Cape Fear— hold the “E”. It’s Scorsese season. To celebrate the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, we’re looking back at the illustrious career of one the most beloved directors in Hollywood, the most dedicated Marvel hater, and the father of the iconic Francesca Scorsese.
Cape Fear is a bit of a black sheep in Scorsese’s filmography. After the success of Goodfellas in 1991, Scorsese took over the production of Cape Fear from Steven Spielberg after he deemed it too violent. What follows is a far-cry from Scorsese’s typical directorial techniques— montage, diegetic sound, long takes, or even any of his narrative techniques, like ambiguous endings and authentic tone. Cape Fear is, for lack of a better term, balls-to-the-wall insane, utilising a whiplash of canted camera angles, whip-pans, rack rooms, and split-focus diopter compositions, all shot in an anamorphic 2.35:1 ratio that’ll make your brain spin.
Cape Fear is also Scorsese’s first-hand shot at optical effects, using matte paintings and blue screen to create a striking and almost phantasmagorical world, like a fever dream Max Cady would have whilst thrashing around in his prison bunk. In fact, Scorsese’s directorial choices almost make you believe that the whole ordeal is a dream, or, at the very least, a nightmare-ish parody of the thriller genre. It’s an edgier, more demented take on the 1963 version that ushers in a new decade of cinematic depravity.
Speaking of depravity, it also features Robert De Niro’s most terrifying role to date, other than that time he played a gangster shark. De Niro’s version of Max Cady is a well-spoken, well-read Jesus Freak who justifies his sick and twisted actions through his zealous faith, all while charming his victims with a soft Southern drawl. It’s off-putting enough to hear De Niro without his usual accent but even more off-putting to see him harass the lawyer who was responsible for his incarceration, Sam Bowden.
Throughout the movie, Cady stalks the Bowden family through thick and thin, fuelled on vengeance after Bowden withheld evidence that could have gotten Cady a lenient sentence. He hurdles towards them like an unstoppable storm, loitering their property, murdering their dog, raping Bowden’s associate, seducing Bowden’s teenage daughter, murdering their housekeeper, and holding the Bowden family hostage on a houseboat.
As you can see, Your Honour, he did nothing wrong, at least in Cady’s eyes. He’s an unstoppable Übermensch. When he drowns in the end, Cady lurks over the water like a predatory shark, his obsidian eyes vowing to the Bowdens that this isn’t over, even in death. This last scene is so visually striking that it was even used for the poster, leaving a haunting impression on the viewer; it’s as if Cady will jump off the screen and get you too.
Like Cady himself, Cape Fear is unfortunately lost in a sea of Scorsese classics, even if this movie is Scorsese’s most unique and visually stunning entry. It’s an effective deep dive into the mind of a maniac and the fanatic levels one will go to seek revenge, all whilst adopting an eccentric 90’s spin on a genre that was long gone stale. Perhaps one day, audiences can look through the layers of parodistic wackiness and see a more sophisticated study of justice and retribution.
That being said, the scene where Cady kept walking into a bunch of rakes was a bit too silly, Martin.
“Martin Scorsese avp 2013” by Georges Biard is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.