IR TV Review: CAPE FEAR - EPISODE 6 (“Possum”) [Apple TV]

Directors do make a difference to make it their own. Trey Edward Shults, who has made two interesting indies in "Krisha" and "It Comes At Night" takes the reign of this episode and because of the way he handles certain scenes you can feel the difference. And whether or not that is cool with the show runners is a matter for another day. But because of two sequences you see his tendencies with both style and acting making this episode entitled "Possum" seemingly more cinematic than the others. The first is in a different perspective and the ratio actually changes to what IMAX would be even though this is just for television. This sequence also requires is a different kind of acting than Patrick Wilson and Amy Adams have had to play yet...and it really hits well.

But even more so it works into the last scene which has great reactions and the most grounded context with Cady yet. Bardem is quite intense here (more than usual) and next level in this scene as the stakes are really set. The last shot before leaving the house show this. A little bit more of the mythology is shown as bookends. The black and white (which was used in early episodes) shifts the perspective...again a very specific choice by Shults. This narrative device which was started in an earlier episode definitely shifts and speaks to the would-be reason behind Cady's MO. And though there is a kind of religious angle, it is not quite fully explained yet. But again every scene even one in the car between two key characters from the 1991 version feels more lived in. Directors do make a difference but a lot of time TV episodes want to be uniform across the series and by the rules. But this is definitely a stand out episode because of the approach and very specific direction and style by Shults. A-

By Tim Wassberg