What is your definition of fear? From a psychological and cognitive lens, fear is a response to perceived, and often legitimate, environmental threats causing those experiencing the emotion to react defensively, with overt self-protection, and often times panic. Fear is an innate, inbred emotion that each and every human being on the face of the earth experiences, whether it’s the fear of losing your reputation, the fear of losing a family member, or even the fear of losing something as simple as your MetroCard that has 10 bucks on it so you know you’ll get home okay (that’s actually crossing into the territory of anxiety, but, let’s be real, anxiety is a form of fear...) -- Whatever your definition, we can all agree that, in some ways, fear is a form of self-protection; if we didn’t experience it, many of us would probably be in far worse situations than we are right now.
Well, the definition of fear is acutely dissected by Martin Scorsese in his 1991 film “Cape Fear,” from the minds of people we would stereotypically perceive as fearless, as well as those we would often perceive as a little more fragile or afraid. Specifically, without giving too much away (even though I’m sure there are people reading who have seen it a million times by now...), Robert De Niro’s Max Cady, a rapist who was put behind bars for 14 years for his malicious crimes, stalks the lawyer, Sam Bowden played by Nick Nolte, who defended him in court. Bowden hid critical evidence that would’ve really decreased his client’s time in jail, but, of course, was so disgusted that he did not share it with the judge . As someone who has taken criminal law classes and studied it quite rigorously during my time as a law student (aka paralegal student...), this is a huge no-no. A lawyer, from an ethical perspective, is required to do everything and anything to help his or her client, but one could argue that Bowden was being ethical in this circumstance, simply by getting someone like Bowden off the street. Anyway, I don’t want to turn this into a philosophical ethics discussion, or even a legal one, so I’m gonna put my critic hat back on....
So- my critic hat is back on, and..... This film is a definite masterpiece. The sublime architecture of each scene is truly captivating, especially within the opening sequence and each scene thereafter. The performances are equally as magical, and all of the leading actors rock it with everything they’ve got. However, there are moments in the film that have really tested my fright level, and especially what I am able to stomach or even tolerate, but I think that was the point. It really cultivates a level of fearlessness in us all, even if we are a little shy to proceed to the next gory scene. I’m over it by now, and I’d totally recommend the film to you, so I hope you can handle what it has to offer and take a glance at the movie next time you have the opportunity -- unless you’re too afraid to watch it that is :-)
