Apple TV's Cape Fear has been raking in positive reviews from fans and critics alike. As of writing, the series has a 75% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. Much of the praise is heaped on Javier Bardem's character Max Cady, a man charged with the murder of his wife whose conviction is overturned when his former mistress leaves a confession in her 'suicide' note.
Reintegrating into society is tough for the ex-con-celebré, who is wheeled out by a fictional version of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organisation dedicated to helping falsely convicted prisoners become exonerated.
At the heart of this company is Max's former defence attorney Anna Bowden (played by Amy Adams), who encouraged Max to take a plea-deal only to turn around and marry the prosecutor on his case, Tom (Patrick Wilson).
If your head is spinning, we don't blame you. The show is a web of interconnected pasts and presents with plenty of secrets - and skeletons - piling up behind closet doors (almost literally!).
One of the biggest secrets is who is the woman in the mask that's seemingly stalking Max and Anna…
Cape Fear episode 3 spoilers follow.
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At the end of episode three, the face of the masked woman is finally revealed – and it is none other than actor Juliette Lewis!
Now, for those who hadn't seen the 1991 film adaptation of Cape Fear, helmed by Martin Scorsese, it's just a great bit of casting. But for those who have, adding Lewis to the roster is a big wink.
In Scorsese's 1991 adaptation, the story centres on defence attorney Samuel G Bowden (Nicke Nolte) whose family is being terrorised by recently-released convict Max Cady (played by Robert DeNiro).
The film is very different to the series (and also different to the 1962 film, which is also different to the 1957 novel The Executioners, upon which all of these adaptations are based).
In the film, Samuel has a wife and teenage daughter (in the show, Anna has two teenage children, a boy and a girl). Famously, and to critical acclaim, Lewis played Danielle "Dani" Bowden, Samuel Bowden's daughter. Lewis was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar at only 18 years old for the role.
A pivotal scene in the Cape Fear film takes place in Dani's school auditorium, where Max - posing as a drama teacher - worms his way into her heart. But Dani, though clearly manipulated by him and having no idea who he is, kicks the interaction up a notch in a moment that is horrifying, confounding, and perfectly timed.
In the film adaptation, what makes Dani as a character so compelling is that she becomes a lens of the audience. She is both intrigued by and afraid of Cady, which mirrors our experience watching.
We are, of course, horrified by his crimes, his violence, and his mania. But we are watching because we find it all fascinating, and the story keeps us coming back to try and figure out what is going on. And why.
The new Apple TV series to date hasn't given us much detail about who this masked woman's character is, except that she knows Max from the past.
Whether she wants to protect the Bowden family, get revenge on Max for some wrong, or claim him for herself (he is, strangely in your writer's humble opinion, the object of a lot of female attention) remains to be seen. So far, the TV show doesn't give us this same lens. Those around Max are either terrified/disgusted by him, or attracted to/enamoured with him.
Somehow, Apple TV managed to keep this bit of hat-tip casting to themselves. Lewis' name doesn't appear in any of the publicity materials, nor had anyone found out and spoiled it online before episode three dropped.
Whether she's an entirely new invention, pulled from the book, or previous adaptations is also unclear. But her reveal clearly has an impact on Max.
Lewis' character, still unnamed, manages to get a VHS tape delivered to Max. When he plays it, the image slowly zooms out as she removes her hood and mask, and says simply: “Hey Max, I heard you got out.”
She then sings the refrain “what do they know about love? What do they know about love, my dear.” This would all imply that their connection was, at the very least, intimate in some nature.
But given Max's extreme reaction to the video, perhaps not alls well that ends… well?
Only time will tell what exactly Lewis’ character wants, and whether or not she’ll be a threat or an ally to the Bowens.
Cape Fear is streaming on Apple TV, with new episodes weekly.
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Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance film critic and journalist, with a focus on J-drama & film, and the Japanese production industry. She was previously Locations Editor at Screen International and Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. Her writing can also befound in Curzon, 1883, and more. A born and raised New Yorker, she loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.
