Review of Cape Fear (1991) by Dan S — 25 Jun 2010
A disturbing, if flawed, story concerning a happy family of three (Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis) who are terrorized by an ex-convict, who is seeking vengeance on the father, who served as his lawyer fourteen years ago and lost the case.
Although dark material like this is best handled by a master of film like Scorsese, and his casting for this film is impeccable, especially Robert De Niro who provides yet another stunning, magnificent turn as a vicious human being - this movie has it's share of problems.
As the plot holes begin to pile up (especially concerning the Joe Don Baker character), the movie loses it's sense of realism and turns into something that proves somewhat ridiculous. Like the family's houseboat, the film's path shares a similar fate, and the ending monologue by Juliette Lewis is a poor attempt at wrapping things up.
Definitely not a bad movie, for whenever De Niro appears he makes your skin crawl, but certainly not one of Scorsese's best.
This review of Cape Fear (1991) was written by Dan S on 25 Jun 2010.
Cape Fear has generally received very positive reviews.
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