TV
Javier Bardem, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson star in thriller
The Apple TV series “Cape Fear” releases a new episode each Friday through July 31. The series is inspired by the 1991 film of the same name.
The new Apple TV series “Cape Fear,” takes inspiration from the 1991 film of the same name, which starred Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis — both of whom were nominated for Academy Awards for the film.
The new series from Apple TV features an all-star cast including Javier Bardem, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson, with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as executive producers.
According to Apple TV, the series follows Anna and Tom Bowden, played by Adams and Wilson, who are two happily married lawyers whose perfect life turns into a nightmare when Max Cady, played by Bardem, a notorious killer from their past is released from prison and shows up to settle an old score. Unresolved history begins to surface, placing mounting pressure on the family and forcing them to confront choices they believed were long behind them.
The series is based on John D. MacDonald’s novel “The Executioners,” which inspired both the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck and the 1991 remake directed by Scorsese.
Adams says the source material drew her to the project.
“And then when I read the pilot, it captured that same fever-dream energy,” Adams says. “I loved how it opened a world of discovery for the characters as it goes so much deeper into their backstories, brings in more of the family members, and examines relationships and consequences. One of the things I was attracted to was examining the consequences of the things we keep secret.”
Adams was excited by the opportunity to examine her role in Cady’s conviction from a new perspective, finding herself questioning whether he actually could be innocent.
“It’s wonderful to examine the character of Max’s defense attorney as a woman,” Adams says. “We get to see the complications and the doubt — recognizing that she may have been wrong, not knowing if she was wrong, and whether she negotiated Cady’s plea deal for the right reasons. We dive into it and see how it affects her and her family as she moves forward. It was lovely to put a feminine eye on that.”
Wilson’s character is a former Marine and successful attorney whose professional life is deeply entwined with Anna’s as the prosecuting attorney on the Cady case. The shared history surrounding Cady’s conviction becomes a defining element of the marriage.
“We both have this relationship to a shared secret,” Adams says, “and when Max Cady comes back, it forces us to examine ourselves and our marriage.”
Wilson says he had no interest in revisiting the story simply for the sake of retelling it, but with the adaptation, he could quickly see there was so much more to explore.
“(Writer and showrunner) Nick (Antosca) did a great job of capturing the spirit of the story,” Wilson says. “When you’re dealing with a thriller and this type of psychological drama, it’s all about the tension and release, and the tension carries throughout each episode.”
In bringing unsettling material to the screen, a deep trust was established between the cast.
“We all had to really lean on each other because the subject matter was a little haunting and intense at times,” Adam says. “I count myself lucky that we had the time and ability to hang with each other, getting to play off of all of these wonderful actors and their performances. I learned so much about my own work and how to build (a) story. It was a wonderful experience that I really grew from.”
Bardem dove into portraying the complex Cady and knew he didn’t want to imitate any other iterations of the character.
“It is far from my wish to try to match what Robert De Niro did,” Bardem says. “That’s impossible. This is the story of a man who’s been in prison for a crime that we have to figure out if he did or did not commit. When he comes out, he feels he was betrayed by his lawyer, and he wants revenge.”
Bardem enjoyed diving into Cady’s rage.
“The roots are very deep,” Bardem says. “They go way beyond being in prison — back to his childhood, to the suffering that shaped him. I don’t see him as someone who is tense or constricted. There’s no rush. There’s no urgency. He will take his time — and that’s what makes him dangerous. He lets fear and insecurity grow in others.”
Adrian Gomez is a freelance writer for the Albuquerque Journal. He works for the New Mexico Film Office, focusing on industry research.
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