Malice (1993 film)

Malice
Original poster
Directed by	Harold Becker
Written by	Aaron Sorkin Scott Frank Based on a story by Jonas McCord
Produced by	Harold Becker Charles Mulvehill Rachel Pfeffer
Starring	Alec Baldwin Nicole Kidman Bill Pullman Peter Gallagher Bebe Neuwirth Josef Sommer Anne Bancroft George C. Scott
Cinematography	Gordon Willis
Edited by	David Bretherton
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Production companies	Nelvana Limited Castle Rock Entertainment New Line Cinema
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	October 1, 1993
Running time	106 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$20 million (estimated)
Box office	Domestic: $46,405,336

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 that they are restoring in the Western Massachusetts. He is the Associate Dean at the local college, while his wife 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 brilliant surgeon who has recently arrived at the area hospital. Andy recognizes Jed from high school 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 to 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 Andy's friend, 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 and is being operated on by Jed. In removing one of Tracy's ovaries, which has ruptured due to a cyst, Jed discovers Tracy is pregnant, but the stress of the procedure causes the fetus to abort. Near the end of the surgery, another doctor notices that her other ovary is torsed and appears necrotic. Jed talks to Andy, who has been in the waiting room, and advises him to agree to the removal of Tracy's second ovary, rather than risk her life; Andy painfully agrees, since this will mean that Tracy can never have children. Back in surgery, Jed overrules the protests of the other doctors that the ovary might still be healthy and removes it. When Jed later is told the second ovary was in fact 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, responds to the accusation that he has a God complex by declaring that as far as medicine is concerned, he is God. His insurance company settles with Tracy for $20 million, and she leaves Andy, whom she blames for the loss of her ability to ever have children.

Andy accidentally discovers that the serial rapist is Earl Leemus (Tobin Bell), the college handyman, and apprehends him. After Andy tells Dana that Tracy had been pregnant before the surgery, she tells him that his 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 that Tracy’s mother, whom Andy had been told was dead, might be able to offer him some insight.

In return for a bottle of single malt whiskey, Mrs. Kennsinger (Anne Bancroft) tells Andy the truth about her supposedly sweet daughter: Tracy is a con artist. 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 that an excess amount of the drug can cause painful ovarian cysts, and he realizes Tracy deliberately created her illness with Jed's help. An angry Andy confronts Tracy and tells her he wants half the money from the settlement. He also tells her that if he should meet with an unexpected death, a letter will immediately be sent to the police department, directing them to interview the young boy next door. He implies that the boy, whom they never met but whom they frequently saw sitting at his bedroom window, was a witness to Jed injecting Tracy with Perganol.

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 and slaps her for suggesting murdering the boy. 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.

That night, Tracy waits until the nurse next door leaves, lures Andy away from his house with a misleading phone call, then breaks in and tries to smother the boy. When she wraps some cellophane around his face from behind, she realizes that it's a dummy and she has been set up. 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.

Cast

• Alec Baldwin ..... Jed Hill
• Nicole Kidman ..... Tracy Safian
• Bill Pullman ..... Andy Safian
• Bebe Neuwirth ..... Dana Harris
• Anne Bancroft ..... Mrs. Kennsinger
• Peter Gallagher ..... Dennis Riley
• Josef Sommer ..... Lester Adams
• George C. Scott ..... Dr. Martin Kessler
• Tobin Bell ..... Earl Leemus
• Debrah Farentino ..... Nurse Tanya
• Gwyneth Paltrow ..... Paula Bell
• Brenda Strong ..... Claudia, Riley's Secretary

Production

Malice was shot on location in Boston, Amherst, Holyoke, and Northampton in Massachusetts. Smith College was the setting used for Andy's college.

Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, two of the co-founders of Canadian animation studio Nelvana, worked as executive producers on the film.

Malice opened on 1,431 screens in the U.S. 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.

Critical reception

Malice earned mixed reviews from critics, holding a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews.

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."

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."

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."

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • "You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something. I am God." - Nominated

Cultural references

In the 30 Rock episode "St. Valentine's Day", Jack Donaghy, portrayed by Baldwin, confesses to a priest that he once said "I am God" during a deposition. This is a reference to a famous line by Jed Hill, Baldwin's character in this film.

External links

• Malice at IMDb
• Malice at Rotten Tomatoes