There is no show on TV right now as hot and shocking as Apple TV's Cape Fear. Quickly becoming one of the summer's most addictive watches, the series is inching up to an explosive finale, but not before the 10-part limited series hits a turning point. After weeks of psychological manipulation, Javier Bardem's immaculate performance of the twisted and deranged Max Cady finally succeeds in pulling every member of the Bowden family into his orbit in different ways. Zach's (Joe Anders) mental state continues to deteriorate as he falls deeper under the former inmate's influence, while Natalie (Lily Collias) unknowingly follows him on a road trip after being drugged.
But as the teens' parents, Anna and Tom, played respectively by a striking Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson, work to unthread Max from their family, they each become so desperate that they're willing to cross moral lines themselves. In an interview with Collider for Episode 7, "Mongrel," Bardem says Max is "using every tool he has to create chaos and vulnerability" for Anna and Tom, especially through the Bowden children. His co-star, Adams, echoes that by saying Max is "exploiting every opportunity to get to them," which the terrifying chapter makes painfully clear.
Bardem and Adams Agree on Christopher Nolan's Best Movie
Bardem and Adams pick The Dark Knight, while Wilson gives a shoutout to Nolan's earlier thriller Memento.
Since it is the summer of blockbusters on TV and in the movie theaters, we're asking everybody, what's everyone's favorite Christopher Nolan movie?
JAVIER BARDEM: For me, The Dark Knight. I think it changed the game in many ways of how to portray the humanity and the flaws of those superheroes and those people that we thought were one-sided kind of characters.
AMY ADAMS: Yeah, I would concur with that. I love that film.
PATRICK WILSON: That's tough.
ADAMS: I know. It is.
WILSON: Memento? There's a lot.
ADAMS: Oh, you're going way back. He's great. I'm really excited to see The Odyssey.
ADAMS: Yeah, I'm really excited.
Bardem Breaks Down Max Cady's Twisted Hold Over the Bowden Children
Bardem says Max uses Zach and Natalie to poison the Bowden family from the inside out.
Awesome. Talking about this show, Javier, Episode 7 shows Max pulling Zach and Natalie into his orbit in very different ways. Does Max see them as people he's protecting or people he's punishing Anna through, or as a twisted version of a family he thinks he once had?
BARDEM: I think he's using every tool he has to create chaos and vulnerability, and also create an internal turmoil of security in the family, so he's happy when they go against themselves. He's bringing the poison to their own house for them to drink it and die slowly, and that's through their kids. The children are a very important key element of that, as you can imagine.
ADAMS: He's exploiting every opportunity to get to them.
BARDEM: And it's fun!
WILSON: Terrible. He's terrible.
ADAMS: [Laughs] For Max. It's fun for Max.
BARDEM: It's fun to play, not to do it.
Adams Breaks Down Anna's Breaking Point in Episode 7
Anna's deepest secrets resurface as Max pushes her to the breaking point, Adams says.
Amy, by Episode 7, Anna is forced to confront parts of her past that she spent years trying to bury. How does carrying those secrets affect the choices she makes when Max comes back into her life, especially in those last three episodes?
ADAMS: I think that she really trusts her instincts about his intentions, and the world is trying to tell her that this is just her and that she's carrying some guilt about the "incorrect" verdict and her incorrect guidance as a lawyer. So, I think we're spending a lot of time, and by this time, she's just done listening to everybody else, and she really understands. I think by this episode, you're now on my side in Episode 7, I believe.
But I think what it is for Anna is like, at all costs, protecting the truth, not only to protect herself from her own shame, but to protect her family. Because in the destruction of her comes the destruction of the relationship with Tom, and then the destruction of her career. It's just destruction all over for her life. So, she's really protecting her family and trying to protect herself. I think part of the suspense for her is watching her sort of unravel the truth of who she is. Not only what she's done, but who she is.
Wilson Says 'Cape Fear' Is About the Dark Pull of Revenge
Wilson says Tom's desperation raises the show's biggest question: how far would you go for revenge?
Patrick, you are on Anna's side. You're trying to help her out, and you're trying to figure things out, but Tom is running out of options, and I feel like he's losing control of the situation. How far is he willing to go to protect his family once he realizes the rules no longer apply?
WILSON: I think you'll see that very soon. Look, when your livelihood, your family, your relationship, your marriage, when that's being put to the test, you'll do anything, and that's something that is fun to explore as an actor, because I think we're all fascinated by that as people on either side. The ambiguity of who's right and who's wrong? How far would you go? Would you get revenge on someone? "Wow, man, if they did that to me, maybe I would."
That's the escape, I think, that people can get from the show, and I ...
