Malice is a 1993 American thriller film directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank is based on a story by Jonas McCord.
Plot
Andy (Bill Pullman) and Tracy Safian (Nicole Kidman) are a happily married couple living in a Victorian house they're restoring in the Boston suburbs. He is the Associate Dean at the local college, while his wife, who has been experiencing intense abdominal pain, teaches art to children. When a student is attacked in her home by what appears to be a serial rapist, her life is saved by Dr. Jed Hill (Alec Baldwin), a newly arrived doctor at the area hospital. Andy recognizes Jed from their high school days and invites him to rent the third floor of their home in order to finance the new plumbing. With his propensity to bring home sexual partners and party late into the night, he quickly proves himself to be a less than ideal tenant.
When student Paula Bell (Gwyneth Paltrow) is attacked and killed, Andy finds her body in the garden behind her home, prompting detective Dana Harris (Bebe Neuwirth) to view him as a possible suspect. While at the police station delivering a semen sample, Andy learns his wife has been hospitalized. Jed discovers Tracy is pregnant and notices her ovaries are torsed and appear necrotic. Over the protests of the other doctors, he opts not to wait for test results and advises Andy to agree to the removal of Tracy's ovaries. During the surgery, the fetus aborts. When Jed later is told the ovaries were healthy, he decides that, rather than bury the report, he will face the consequences of his actions.
At a deposition, Jed's attorney Lester Adams (Josef Sommer) learns his client had been drinking prior to the surgery. His case is not helped when Jed, during his testimony, grandiosely compares himself to God. His insurance company settles with Tracy for $20 million, and she leaves Andy, whom she blames for the loss of her ovaries.
Andy accidentally discovers that the serial rapist is Earl Leemus (Tobin Bell), the college handyman, and apprehends him. Dana reports Andy's semen sample indicated he is sterile and couldn't have fathered Tracy's child. Andy confronts Tracy's lawyer, Dennis Riley (Peter Gallagher), and accuses him of having impregnated Tracy and colluded with her. Riley denies everything and reveals Tracy’s mother, whom Andy had been told was dead, might be able to offer him some insight.
Mrs. Kennsinger (Anne Bancroft) tells Andy the truth about her supposedly sweet daughter: the woman is a con artist. She tells him she had a relationship with a wealthy man who paid her to have an abortion, but Tracy kept the money and had it done illegally. Her mother also confirms Andy's suspicion that Tracy was pregnant by a Dr. David Lilianfield, who ultimately proves to be Jed, and Andy tracks them to a house where the two are living together.
Back at home, Andy discovers a hypodermic needle containing the fertility drug Perganol. He learns an excess amount of the drug can cause the pain, and he realizes she deliberately created her illness with Jed's help. He meets with Tracy and tells her he wants half the money. He also tells her that if he should meet with an unexpected death a letter will immediately be sent to the police department notifying them of the existing witness. He implies that there was a witness to her trysts with Jed - and also to Jed injecting her with Perganol which in high dosages can cause ovarian cysts. He states that the young boy next door- whom they never met but who they frequently saw sitting at his bedroom window- watched everything.
Tracy tells Jed about Andy's demands and he tells her to give him what he wants. She refuses and says that she earned that money and that there was no way she was splitting it three ways. Tracy tells Jed that they have to get rid of the witness because that is the only bargaining chip that Andy has on them. He refuses. She attempts to pressure him into it by reminding him of his removing her ovaries. Jed attempts to walk away, but Tracy pulls a gun and shoots him.
Tracy lures Andy away from his house, waits until the nurse next door leaves, then breaks in and tries to smother the boy. When she wraps the cellophane around his face from behind she realizes that its a dummy. Andy surprises her and they fight until Detective Harris, who was disguised as the nurse, returns and arrests Tracy. As Tracy is led away she sees the boy and his mother return. It is revealed that the boy is, in fact, blind.
Production
The film was shot on location in Boston, Amherst, Holyoke, and Northampton in Massachusetts. Smith College was the setting used for Andy's college.
The film opened on 1,431 screens in the US on October 1, 1993 and grossed $9,232,650 on its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office. It eventually earned a total of $46,405,336 in the US. [1]
Cast
Critical reception
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "one of the busiest movies I've ever seen, a film jampacked with characters and incidents and blind alleys and red herrings. Offhand, this is the only movie I can recall in which an entire subplot about a serial killer is thrown in simply for atmosphere." He added, "I can't go into detail without revealing vital secrets. Yet after the movie is over and you try to think through those secrets, you get into really deep molasses . . . Malice was directed by Harold Becker, whose credits include the splendid films The Onion Field and Sea of Love, and he milks this material for a great deal more than it is worth." [2]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone observed, "Goaded on by writer Aaron Sorkin, who could run a red-herring factory, the actors work to keep you guessing long after you've caught on. No one shows any shame about going over the top, especially Anne Bancroft in an Oscar-begging cameo as Tracy's mother. Perhaps director Harold Becker thought flashy acting could distract us from the gaping plot holes. Becker gets so intent on confusing us, he forgets to give us characters to care about . . . It's got suspense but no staying power." [3]
Timothy M. Gray of Variety said, "The immaculately crafted Malice is a virtual scrapbook of elements borrowed from other suspense pix, but no less enjoyable for being so familiar. [It] should tickle audiences who want to be entertained without being challenged . . . Some of the plotting gets plodding . . . but on the whole, the script does what it set out to do, and if the filmmakers didn't worry about these things, neither should you . . . After listless performances in such pics as Days of Thunder and Far and Away, Aussie Kidman, who here uses a flawless American accent, proves her strengths as an actress, and Baldwin mixes menace, sex and humor in another terrific performance." [4]
Cultural references
In an episode of TV series 30 Rock ("St. Valentine's Day"), Alec Baldwin's character confesses to a priest that he once said "I am God" during a deposition, which is self-referential to Baldwin's character in Malice.
References
External links
