Cape Fear (1991)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: Wesley Strick (based on the book by John D. MacDonald and James R. Webb’s screenplay of the 1962 film
Cast: Robert de Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
Music:  Elmer Bernstein 
Time: 127 minutes
Bottom-line: Suspenseful and haunting

Counselor! Come out, come out, wherever you are!
Robert De Niro’s menacing voice still echoes in your ears for a long time after you have finished watching Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear. Based on the original 1962 film starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, the 1991 film is the better of the two, in my view, with a far more menacing villain, and with the violence and tension at screaming point.

de Niro as Max Cady

Sam Bowden (Nolte) is a lawyer living with his wife Leigh (Lange) and teenage daughter Danielle (Lewis) in New Essex. Max Cady (de Niro) is a former client of Bowden, who was accused of rape, fourteen years ago. Seeing the brutality of the crime, Bowden himself had buried some critical evidence, which would have eased Cady’s sentence. In his sentence, Cady managed to learn the law on his own and eventually got released. Now he’s in search of the one man who ruined his life. It is Cady’s time to take revenge...

Nolte as Sam (middle), Lewis as Danielle
(right) and Lange as Leigh

The storyline is basically about how Cady repeatedly torments Sam and his family. First, he stalks them in the theatre and then assaults Sam’s friend, and even goes as far as kissing Danielle. The first half introduces the characters and shows how Cady systematically starts to execute his revenge, and the second half is about how Sam tries to protect his family when his “past” tries to haunt them. The highlight of the film is the way Sam and Cady play out each other; just as Sam comes up with better security to protect his loved ones, Cady pulls out an even more cunning trick!

From the beginning, it’s de Niro who has all your attention. With his chilling entry – thanks to the gory images of the tattoos, along with Bernard Herrmann’s original 1962 Max Cady theme – he has his iron grip on you ever since. His seemingly jolly behaviour followed by his merciless barbarity makes him one of the most terrifying villains of all time (of course, credit also goes to the original 1962 villain, played by Mitchum). In my view, I think de Niro deserved the Oscar more than Anthony Hopkins (who won for The Silence of the Lambs). Nick Nolte, Lange and Lewis’ performances are almost completely overshadowed by de Niro, but towards the climax, all of them have done exceptionally well, especially Lewis.

Compared to the 1962 film, as I said earlier, de Niro plays a much more ferocious and violent Max Cady than Robert Mitchum. This film has 25 minutes of additional screen time as well, mainly devoted to the other ways Cady stalks and scares the family, not shown in the original (for example, in the earlier film, Cady never talks directly to Sam's daughter ). Although  Mitchum set the base to portray such a villain, de Niro undoubtedly put on the better show, and Scorsese, the better film.

The original 1962 film poster

Cape Fear isn’t the typical Scorsese, except for the fact that it stars de Niro, in his seventh collaboration with Scorsese. But, in terms of entertainment, the film provides everything, starting from a suspenseful build-up to the thrilling finale at Cape Fear. Look out for the scenes where Cady indirectly accuses Sam of betraying his client, the scene where he stalks Danielle at school and the one where he beats up his own attackers and taunts Sam. The best part is when Cady finally enters Sam’s house and, not to forget, the finale in the houseboat, where Cady truly reveals his power. Remember, “There is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light. Except fear.” 


My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 76%

Newton (2017)

Director: Amit V. Masurkar

Story: Amit V. Masurkar

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil

Music: Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor

Time: 104 minutes

Bottom-line: A well-made political satire addressing a key issue of the country

India’s submission to the 90^th Academy Awards for the category of Best Foreign Film, Masurkar’s Newton is a satire about the voting system in India, in particular, the state of Chhattisgarh.

Newton (Rao) is a government clerk, who is sent to Chhattisgarh on election duty, to collect votes from 76 voters in an area amidst the Naxal-controlled forests of the state. He is assisted by a local officer, Malko Netam (Patil) and Loknath (Raghubhir Yadav). Despite his utmost sincerity in conducting a free and fair election, nothing else goes his way. The armed forces – led by Asst. Commandant Aatma Singh (Tripathi) – warn him of the imminent guerrilla attacks and other dangers in the forest, but Newton is persistent. Initially, no voters show up. However, the moment they receive information that a foreign reporter is covering the incident, the army forces the villagers to cast votes. Newton realises that the villagers are clueless about what the election is; no villager has ever seen a voting machine before. With barely any support from the others, does Newton do his duty? Or does he succumb?

 

Rajkummar Rao as Newton

In a country that is the world’s largest democracy, the number of people who do not cast their vote – despite it being the duty of a citizen – is shockingly high. For various reasons, from laziness, to ignorance, to the “what’s-the-point-nothing-is-going-to-change-anyway” attitude, the voting system has its flaws. In Newton, that is the issue dealt with, against the backdrop of Naxal warfare. We see that the villagers do have voter cards, but are scared and ignorant about the whole process. They show up only when forced, and they have no idea why they vote. The security tells Newton to clear up much earlier than the stipulated time, since no one is willing to vote anyway. Newton desperately tries to teach the villagers the fundamentals, but Aatma Singh, realising that this won’t work, manipulates the villagers by telling them the machine is a toy, and they can press the button for whichever symbol they like.

 

Anjali Patil as Malko

The film is more of a documentary than a feature film, except for the wisely scripted dry humour that appeals to your funny bone as well. Newton’s character is one of those extremely honest officers, surrounded by people who are anything but sincere. Most people in Newton’s position would take the hint in the first go and run for their own safety. That is what happens when you’re the only guy doing his job. One can argue how a mere 76 votes matter anyway in a nation of 1.3 billion people; but if 76 officers in 76 areas with 76 people each, all think the same way, then a problem starts to grow. Educating people about the election is the first step that should be taken.

 

Pankaj Tripathi as Aatma Singh

Rajkummar Rao’s performance is highly commendable. Newton’s tenacity and discipline are very inspiring. The characters of Malko and Loknath bring a blend of humour and other viewpoints on the election. On the other end of the spectrum is Aatma Singh, whose excuse is that nothing useful happens anyway; in one scene he complains how the army hasn’t received night vision goggles even two years after their request. Using just four characters, there is a wide range of opinions and views open to discussion.   

A wake-up call to many Indians, Newton is one of the most well-made films addressing social issues. The pace might slacken now and then, but the movie is worth your time.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Raising Arizona (1987)

Director: Joel Coen

Story: Joel and Ethan Coen

Cast: Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter

Music: Carter Burwell

Time: 94 minutes

Bottom-line: A crazily hilarious script; full-on entertainment

The Coen brothers’ first comedy film – and their second feature film – Raising Arizona is unlike any other Coen brothers film! Starring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter in the lead roles, with Trey Wilson, John Goodman and William Forsythe in the supporting roles, the crime-comedy film is a laugh riot.

H. I. “Hi” McDunnough (Cage) is a convenience store robber, who gets arrested. The officer who takes his mugshots is a woman named Edwina “Ed” (Hunter). When it’s love at first sight for Hi, he starts getting arrested deliberately just to see her. Soon enough, he finds out that her fiancé has left her. Following his latest release, Hi proposes to Ed and they get married. Though Hi comes clean of his old lifestyle, the couple faces another problem when they find out that Ed is infertile, and they cannot adopt any kids because of Hi’s criminal record. Luck turns their way when a local furniture magnate, Nathan Arizona (Wilson), and his wife have quintuplets. Hi and Ed kidnap one of the babies, Nathan Jr. When two of His old inmates come to visit and stay in their house for a night, and when news about the kidnapped baby becomes public, Hi’s family life hits the rocks.

 

Cage as Hi, Hunter as Ed, and the baby

Not only is the storyline egregiously different from the neo-noir Blood Simple (and also their future films), but pretty much everything about the film is! I guess this was an experiment the Coens wanted to try out, as they admitted to purposely making the story as different as possible. The polar opposite characteristics of Hi and Ed, and the nature of Hi’s prison mates: Gale and Evelle Snoats (Goodman and Forsythe) are hilariously portrayed. The comic plot twists and the slapstick humour are similar to the style usually seen in Wes Anderson films.

 

Goodman and Forsythe as Gale and Evelle

The plot revolves around how Hi tries to change himself to be a family man, while nothing around him supports him from doing so. His boss proposes a “wife-swapping” program, his jail-mates try to drag him back to shoplifting, and also find out about the baby, and Hi also has a psychotic murderer on his tail, also looking for the baby. Ed is the only person who is fixated on living a family life, while Hi struggles to overcome his impulses. Hi’s attempt to please his own self and his wife is the source of humour.

Nicholas Cage has always intrigued me as to what role he likes playing (never mind if he is good at it). Every character he takes on seems to be quirky and unstable, and Hi McDunnough is the best example. With his accent, hairstyle and overall comic appearance, his performance is quite impressive. It may not be his most elegant show, but it sure gets you laughing. The Coens wrote the story for Holly Hunter playing Ed, and she fits right in. I am surprised the Coens didn’t continue making a few more “mainstream” comedies after this (except The Big Lebowski); this is not their best film, but an amazing first attempt at a comedy. While the story takes a lot of liberty in terms of being realistic, the important thing is that it’s a comedy – and it will make you laugh.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%

Blood Simple (1984)

Director: Joel Coen

Story: Joel and Ethan Coen

Cast: John Getz, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya 

Music: Carter Burwell

Time: 97 minutes

Bottom-line: An intense, violent, blood-curdling neo-noir

Blood Simple is the start of the long and dazzling journey of two of the most prominent filmmakers of today: the Coen brothers. With a cast of four main members, the film is the story involving double-crossing, revenge, and the interplay of fate, and contains several other technical aspects that would later become trademarks of Coen brothers’ films.

Getz as Ray

In Russia, everyone pulls for everyone else. Down here in Texas, you are on your own.

Texas: Abby (McDormand) is the wife of Marty (Hedaya), a bar owner. However, their marriage is on the rocks, and Abby is having an affair with Ray (Getz), who works in Marty’s bar. Suspecting his wife, Marty hires a (unnamed) private detective (Walsh) to follow her, and send photographs. When Ray goes to collect his pay, Marty confronts him about the affair and warns him, but Ray does not budge. Marty then hires the detective to kill the couple. Soon enough, the detective reports back to Marty with a picture of the couple shot dead, but he has his own scheme. When blood is involved, everyone suddenly finds themselves in extreme danger, in one grizzly tale.

McDormand as Abby

Something about Blood Simple makes it very Hitchcockian: the ambience, the score, and the extended dialogue-less scenes reminded me of sequences from films like Psycho and Dial M for Murder. From the first scene on the headlamp-lit highway to the final scene where light enters the room through bullet holes on the wall, the lighting is an aspect that enhances the eerie atmosphere so effectively. The other thing I liked is, as I mentioned, the extended “silent” scenes – a feature also used in later Coen brothers’ films.

Walsh as the detective

The camerawork, score, and the acting are enough to take us through the progress of events, and dialogues are kept to a minimum, and suspense, on the other hand, is at screaming point. The scenes where the detective trails the couple, the encounter between the detective and Marty, followed by Ray’s arrival, and the climax are some pieces of brilliant filmmaking. The simplicity and the dark humour of the entire story – especially the way fate gives poetic justice to all – also make it stand out. The Coens often intensify violence in their films, and they do an exceptionally good job of giving a solid impact with every plot twist.

Hedaya as Marty

In every Coen brothers’ movie, there is always one “white” character: the clean guy (in this case, Abby), there’s an all-out evil guy (the detective), and a “grey” character (Ray), and it’s always the grey character who’s the most important one. The character development is excellent, and by the end of every film, you ask yourself if everyone got the justice they deserved. Frances McDormand has done a brilliant job in her debut film, especially in the climax. Getz and Walsh have their moments of glory as well, and the way the detective’s character has been created – with his double-crossing schemes – will make you gasp in shock.

Blood Simple has a strong impact on its viewers, with its relatively simplistic story and effective plot twists. The film lays the foundation for several techniques used by the Coens in their later films, but their debut film is equally impressive.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%