When it was released in 1991 GMTV film reviewer Paul Gambacini described Scorsese's CAPE FEAR as " being ham directed " . This is yet more evidence that if you want to be a film reviewer it's not what you know , it's who you know . CAPE FEAR isn't a film that suffers from " ham directing " , it's a film that is rather formalist and suffers from what David Bordwell describes as " intensified continuity " . If you're unfamiliar with the term then please look it up and Scorsese wasn't the only American director using the technique because many other directors especially Oliver Stone were doing exactly the same thing in the early 1990s . If Scorsese is to be criticised for doing this then the entire American film industry is equally guilty
If there is a problem with intensified continuity it's that most directors quickly abandoned it with the exception of Oliver Stone which meant he was destined to cinematic obscurity . Watching these type of films in 2007 means they appear rather dated , similar in some ways to watching films from the mid 1980s where you realise the most important aspect is the soundtrack
CAPE FEAR is a fairly entertaining movie but can't be described as a Scorsese masterpiece . DeNiro gives a rather OTT performance as Max Cady , so much so that you find yourself thinking of him as a comic book monster rather than as a real life character . Interestingly enough Scorsese is a director who can be described as misogynistic but by far the two best performances are by Lang and Lewis
The one problem I have with the movie is that it mainly ignores the inadequacy of the law when it comes to stalking . Check the scene where Bowden explains to Lt Elgart that Cady hasn't " been trespassing exactly - Well what exactly ? " . The film would have worked much better and would undoubtedly have been much more credible if this angle had been developed more , but credibility has been sacrificed for entertainment and whilst not a heavy criticism it does make for a flawed movie
If there is a problem with intensified continuity it's that most directors quickly abandoned it with the exception of Oliver Stone which meant he was destined to cinematic obscurity . Watching these type of films in 2007 means they appear rather dated , similar in some ways to watching films from the mid 1980s where you realise the most important aspect is the soundtrack
CAPE FEAR is a fairly entertaining movie but can't be described as a Scorsese masterpiece . DeNiro gives a rather OTT performance as Max Cady , so much so that you find yourself thinking of him as a comic book monster rather than as a real life character . Interestingly enough Scorsese is a director who can be described as misogynistic but by far the two best performances are by Lang and Lewis
The one problem I have with the movie is that it mainly ignores the inadequacy of the law when it comes to stalking . Check the scene where Bowden explains to Lt Elgart that Cady hasn't " been trespassing exactly - Well what exactly ? " . The film would have worked much better and would undoubtedly have been much more credible if this angle had been developed more , but credibility has been sacrificed for entertainment and whilst not a heavy criticism it does make for a flawed movie