Sunday Matinee: Murder On the Cape [Film]

“Based on the true story of New York fashion writer Christa Worthington, who has an affair with a married fisherman while spending a winter holiday in Cape Cod. She returns two years later with his child looking to rekindle their love. When she is found murdered, a mystery unfolds within the tight-knit community, shedding doubt on the prime suspect’s guilt.” – Vision Films

I can vaguely remember hearing about this truly sad and gruesome events that rocked a small cape town so many years ago. I wasn’t completely following the events, and I was unaware of the full details. In fact, the outer-worldly events that took place in this film adaptation of the events may very well be all the facts I truly know. With even the lightest of research, I am finding Arthur Egeli’s stylistically shot dramatization to be a very believable translation of the events that occurred. It is a very sad tale, and many lives have been forever changed because of it. I dare say, that at the very least, Egeli has managed to present the story in a brutally honest and fair fashion. It is brilliant looking film that is far less of a murder mystery, and more of a deep look into the mishandling of life matters by a man who doesn’t quite know what he wants from the world, and a woman who is equally unassured by her own existence as well. It is sad people, doing sad things, in what appears to be the most one of the most well-to-do areas in the U.S.

While the film features brilliant performances all around, It behooves me to put the singular focus the brilliant work of Heather Egeli, who also happens to be a co-producer and co-writer on the film. Her role as the betrayed wife Nancy is stuff that acting dreams are made of. She is SO damn good, and definitely steals the spotlight each and every time she shows up on screen. Even while Jade Harlow is giving what could only be considered the role of her life time, and doing it extremely well, I can’t help but acknowledge that Ms. Egeli’s brilliance is a resounding benefit to the film. And in the rare instances that they are on screen together, it’s simply lightening caught in a beautiful bottle. Also local Cape Cod resident, Josh Walther, darts out the proverbial gates of acting in his first ever role, as the male lead. Quite an impressive introduction, to say the very least.

No matter your thoughts or followership on the events that took place 15 years ago in this sleepy little fishing town, Murder on the Cape is definitely a great film. It is a film that should be enjoyed for the sake of seeing good films. We just don’t get enough of them these days, and for that I am grateful that this one exists.

Murder on the Cape is available now on VOD & DVD wherever you find movies. Also check out some of these great stills from the film, featuring the wonderful actors and actresses mentioned above: