Cape Fear - A different look
Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear is on face value a great thriller, with some excellent acting and of course some great direction. However, looking at it on another level, there may well be something biblical happening.
Max Cady is a test.
A test for the Bowden family.
A test sent from God.
Let's look at it.
The Bowden's are your typical dysfunctional family. Samuel Bowden is a cheating husband, cunning and morally ambiguous lawyer. Leigh Bowden is very self centred and their teenage daughter Danielle Bowden is just on the cusp of womanhood is confused and is having sinful thoughts and her parents won't recognise that.
Cady's goading and taunting of the Bowden's seems to be like all of their past sins are coming home to roost, for Sam its a direct result of what he has done, for Leigh it's abuild up of negative thoughts and feelings and for Danielle - it's the sins of the father.
From Cady's cigar smoking jerk in the cinema to houseboat finale, Cady subjects the Bowden's and in particular Sam Bowden to a series of tests. These are all tests of character for Sam Bowden and in Cady's eyes and indeed in the eyes of many he fails. He can't protect the family, he can't stop Cady from coming inside the house, in essence he is failing in his duties as a husband and father.
Then we have Max Cady. Psychopathic, bible quoter with a massive chip on his shoulder - a total juxtaposition in terms of he does and what he says he is. We can only assume that Cady is a true psycho due to the pain he can withstand but what about the fact that he can move in and out of the Bowden's home without anyone noticing?...Is this the work of a man sent from God or a man hell bent on revenge?
In the high action finale Cady states to Leigh that "five minutes alone with me and you'll be speaking in tongues" is this more religious diatribe or a foreshadowing of events to come?
With Cady bearing down on the family, it seems that when, at their day of reckoning the Bowden's pull through, just as the rapture arrives, they throw themselves at the feet of God by showing the sides of themselves that they thought were lost. Sam Bowden ends up beginning redeemed in so much that he comes clean about why he misrepresented Max Cady, Leigh Bowden offers herself for her daughter in the ultimate sacrifice and Danielle she honours thy Mother and they Father, in the most fiery way possible. Then we get Sam and Max fighting it out to the death. In a terrible storm, on a houseboat that is being ripped apart by the raging river, these two slug it out, with rocks, fists and anything else they can find. As Sam overcomes Cady and goes to finish him off with a massive rock, the river comes and takes him. At this point Cady does indeed start babbling incoherently or is that speaking in tongues? Sam Bowden imagines marks very similar to the stigmata on his hands, a true sign that he is accepted back into God's flock or the result of physical and mental exhaustion.......?
So good people, next time you watch this awesome remake, just think for second...Is this wordy, nerdy look at Cape Fear because this reviewer had far too much red wine or could it be that Cape Fear is the best religious based film of all time (with the exception of The Exorcist)...Yeah that's right - screw you Ten Commandments, you got nothing.
Max Cady is a test.
A test for the Bowden family.
A test sent from God.
Let's look at it.
The Bowden's are your typical dysfunctional family. Samuel Bowden is a cheating husband, cunning and morally ambiguous lawyer. Leigh Bowden is very self centred and their teenage daughter Danielle Bowden is just on the cusp of womanhood is confused and is having sinful thoughts and her parents won't recognise that.
Cady's goading and taunting of the Bowden's seems to be like all of their past sins are coming home to roost, for Sam its a direct result of what he has done, for Leigh it's abuild up of negative thoughts and feelings and for Danielle - it's the sins of the father.
From Cady's cigar smoking jerk in the cinema to houseboat finale, Cady subjects the Bowden's and in particular Sam Bowden to a series of tests. These are all tests of character for Sam Bowden and in Cady's eyes and indeed in the eyes of many he fails. He can't protect the family, he can't stop Cady from coming inside the house, in essence he is failing in his duties as a husband and father.
Then we have Max Cady. Psychopathic, bible quoter with a massive chip on his shoulder - a total juxtaposition in terms of he does and what he says he is. We can only assume that Cady is a true psycho due to the pain he can withstand but what about the fact that he can move in and out of the Bowden's home without anyone noticing?...Is this the work of a man sent from God or a man hell bent on revenge?
In the high action finale Cady states to Leigh that "five minutes alone with me and you'll be speaking in tongues" is this more religious diatribe or a foreshadowing of events to come?
With Cady bearing down on the family, it seems that when, at their day of reckoning the Bowden's pull through, just as the rapture arrives, they throw themselves at the feet of God by showing the sides of themselves that they thought were lost. Sam Bowden ends up beginning redeemed in so much that he comes clean about why he misrepresented Max Cady, Leigh Bowden offers herself for her daughter in the ultimate sacrifice and Danielle she honours thy Mother and they Father, in the most fiery way possible. Then we get Sam and Max fighting it out to the death. In a terrible storm, on a houseboat that is being ripped apart by the raging river, these two slug it out, with rocks, fists and anything else they can find. As Sam overcomes Cady and goes to finish him off with a massive rock, the river comes and takes him. At this point Cady does indeed start babbling incoherently or is that speaking in tongues? Sam Bowden imagines marks very similar to the stigmata on his hands, a true sign that he is accepted back into God's flock or the result of physical and mental exhaustion.......?
So good people, next time you watch this awesome remake, just think for second...Is this wordy, nerdy look at Cape Fear because this reviewer had far too much red wine or could it be that Cape Fear is the best religious based film of all time (with the exception of The Exorcist)...Yeah that's right - screw you Ten Commandments, you got nothing.
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