Malice

This is a dark and somewhat twisted tale, that is good fun to watch. It is disturbing, and convoluted and well balanced, with a pretty good screenplay and some memorable dialog. It has wit and some charm, although it is at the same time deadly serious. Some bad things happen in this film and we are led up some diverting pathways before the truth is revealed. Since suspense is the name of the game here, I can't give you the fine details of the plot, bit I will tell you who the players are, and what their lives are at the start of the movie. Sound like a deal?


FILM ELEMENTS


DIRECTING

Harold Becker is a director with some diverse films to his credit.This one is # 9. More recent efforts include Mercury Rising (with Alec Baldwin again, and Bruce Willis), and Domestic Disturbance, with John Travolta. City Hall in 19966 with Pacino was a completely different type of film. Maltin on IMDB has not contributed any biographical material, and the data base is devoid of any info on this guy whatsoever. But I have seen many of his movies. They are usually mainstream films with the big stars, and I have found most of them worth watching, even if they are not the types of movies I would pay 8 bucks to see in a theater. (Those, I should add, are extremely rare)

CINEMATOGRAPHY


The story takes place at a small college in Massachusetts, and it was filmed mostly at Smith College, although it is not stated outright . There are some lovely shots using those Victorian three story houses to good effect. Otherwise, the camera is competent if not memorable. The colors are muted, there is a fair amount of rain and darkness in the movie which increases as the plot develops, which is a nice touch.


THE SCREEN PLAY AND DIALOG

There are some good lines in this film, and some wit, which you may miss if you aren't paying attention. The story has a point, although you may disagree about what it is. There are no winners at the end, but there is closure. The I am God Speech that Alec Baldwin delivers in the lawyer's office, is one of my favorites in today's movies. It was chilling and over the top, but probably closer to some surgeon's egotistical mind set than we want to believe. The story is devious enough to be interesting. There are surprisingly few loose ends.

MUSIC

The music actually earned a comment from Granniemose who rarely notices such things, and I have to agree. It works for the film and was crafted by 18 time Oscar nominee Jerry Goldsmith. There is a simple piano phrase that is associated with the old house that our couple is trying to fix up at the start of the movie, and it repeats when the themes that went with the house (family, having children) recur. It was well done, and nicely unobtrusive.




PERFORMANCES

I have to say that all the performances of this cast were impressive. Special notice to Kidman , who I don't usually like, and Baldwin, who I do. The one performance that I love in this movie is from none of the top billed cast, but from Anne Bancroft, who plays Kidman's mother in the film.



OTHER STUFF

If there is a fault worth mentioning, it is a of lagging toward the end, a failure to keep the visual interest of the film on course with the startling plot developments. If you have not already seen the film , you may be lulled into missing the important stuff, during these late developments. Pay attention id you can, though. It is definitely worth trying to hear all the clues.

There are a few scenes of sexual passion and some violence to contend with, plus one fairly convincing dead body which might give you pause in allowing your kids to watch.

WHERE THE STORY STARTS:

First, a young woman is returning from class, and someone is waiting for her. She is raped and beaten by an unseen assailant.. Andy Safian is a teacher and counselor at the college, and the girl was one of his advisees.

In surgery, where the young woman is saved by a brilliant surgeon, we find that Jed Hill has just come to work in the local hospital. He is a gifted surgeon, but is a tyrant in the Operating room.
By coincidence, Andy and Jed went to the same high school.

Andy and Tracey Safian are a young couple living in a college town near Boston.( a girl's college). Andy is a professor, young wife Tracey volunteers at a day care center. They have bought an old house, and they are putting everything into fixing it up. They want to have children. Tracey is seeing a specialist in Boston, a Dr. Lillianfield.. They have an extra room, and they need the money, so Jed rents a room from them. Tracey does not seem to like him much.

The rapist is still at large, and another student becomes a victim. These girls are all advisees of Andy's, and he is checked out as a suspect.

Jed is quite the lady's man and bon vivant, but he is a brilliant surgeon. The friendship between him and Andy grows, but Tracey really resents the guy. Tracey is having occasional painful abdominal cramps. One night it becomes a crisis, and she is taken to the hospital. Jed is on call, and she has an ovarian cyst. Her condition is complicated by the fact that she is four weeks pregnant. Before closing in the OR , Jed sees that the other ovary looks necrotic. The pathologist is not in house (common in small hospitals) and Jed makes a decision to take the second nasty looking ovary, with a hurried verbal consent from Andy.


As it turns out when the pathology report comes back, the ovary was healthy after all.


Now if this was the whole story, it would be a straightforward sob story. But everything is not as it seems to be, trust me.

The rapist and now murderer is still at large, and Tracey will never forgive Andy for giving Jed permission to leave her barren. What about Jed? Will there be a lawsuit. I'll give you a hint. Tracey has a mother who is living, although she told her husband her mother had died years ago. All these problems will be resolved. This story is just beginning.





THE CAST


Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jed Hill-This is a complex character, whose fatal flaw in the end is t his ego, and his pride. He is a brilliant surgeon in this movie, but there is definitely something very basic wrong with him. Definitely has a big ego, yet fairly exudes charm as well, Excellent portrayal of a bad guy with many facets to his character. Just goes to show you that you can be brilliant and still not really understand anything. Granniemose claims to remain sympathetic to this character, to the end. There is something about that voice and those blue eyes....sigh.

Nicole Kidman as Tracy Kennsinger (Saifian)-This is an interesting performance, of a young woman who will have your sympathy until at least half the film is over, and then will begin to show some true colors, acquiring a brittle hard edge. But in order for it to work, she had to be convincing in the first persona. And she was, although there are hints as to a difference in how she appears compared to how she really is, almost from the very start of the flick. She is sexy, and beautiful as well, and this is a remarkably complicated performance. Nicole started on Five Mile Creek a TV series in Australia. Her first American film was in Days of Thunder in 1990 with Tom Cruise. (She was the doctor)

Bill Pullman as Andy Safian- He is he steady likable character that he always plays in this movie, But this time, he shows some real backbone. In other movies, losing the girl was humorous. In this one, it is serious. But he doesn't take it lying down. I have always liked Bill Pullman, whether he s playing a President or an idiot (and I grant that he could also play a President who IS an idiot, since they are not mutually exclusive). This is a solid performance, by a solid actor. He is shown to have some complexity as well, and they are subtle keys to his character. He is the victim and the hero, blameless throughout the flick...or is he?

Bebe Neuwirth as Dana. This may be my favorite character in this movie as the woman detective who knows Andy from investigating a serial killer. She has the Boston working class accent down to a Tee, and plays a very sympathetic character. She is the only reason the movie does not end on a completely depressing note, despite the victory of our hero, since there is a hint of a romantic interest as well. You may remember her as Lilith Sternin in Cheers.


George C Scott as Dr. Kessler-this is a small role, and he plays Jed's mentor at Harvard, and plays it nicely subdued and low key. This would be Scott's last feature film, although he continued to work for TV for many years more.

Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Kennsinger-An absolute delight in this role. She is a sleazy , scotch slinging woman of the world, and she has some great lines. In addition, her final moment when she confronts our hero shows that she has been playing a role all along, and is neither as demented or forgetful as she pretends to be. I rerun this chapter several times when I watch this movie.

Peter Gallagher as Dennis Riley-Plays the lawyer for Tracey. This is a stage actor who should have been getting better parts but probably will not. He is an extremely likable sort of fellow, and plays with Pullman in While you Were Sleeping. (He plays the Sleeper)

Josef Sommer as Lester Adams-Plays Jed's lawyer. What is not to like about this guy?-here he shows that lawyers can be as arrogant as doctors. Duh? No kidding?

Tobin Bell as Earl Leemus -a sinister character in many films, and a face that looks evil. You will know him when you see him.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Paula Bell-I was going to use this movie as the one she should expunge from her CV in the recent write-off. She was 21 in 1993 and she could have BEEN this student who always cut classes, had to be counseled, and was ultimately killed. A less than memorable performance for the girl who would win an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love.

Debra Farentino as Tanya -this is the first girl we see in this film and luckily, we don't get too attached.


Michael Hatt as neighbor boy.-really only a silhouette. Only performance in anything to date.


FINAL RECOMMENDATION

I enjoyed this movie, and I have seen it several times. Solid to outstanding performances,and a genius for editing make this an interesting medical thriller. The music and an unexpected story are the best features. It does drag a little in the middle.