Malice

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, Bebe Neuwirth, George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Peter Gallagher, Josef Sommer, Tobin Bell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ann Cusack
Directed by: Harold Becker
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
1993

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A couple- Andy (Bill Pullman) and Tracey (Nicole Kidman) work through their challenges while a serial killer lurks in the area and a old high school acquaintance (Alec Baldwin) reconnects with Andy, moving in upstairs.

Review:

Tim: I'd never seen Malice before and I finally tracked it down because I read that it was an early Aaron Sorkin script. I'm still trying to process the film- it's such an odd, unexpected movie. I can't say I was a big fan, although there are a few things to really like about Harold Becker's film. The movie is an interesting mystery thriller, but it feels like Sorkin and the other writers threw too much into the film. The script is a bit all over the place. In the end, it results in a decent but deeply flawed film.

In some ways, it feels like two different movies got mashed together. When the film begins, we're introduced to Andy and Tracey, but it feels like the larger plot is about a serial killer on campus. Several women have been brutally murdered and the police are mostly ineffective. These two characters seem to have a solid marriage, but there are definitely some challenges, some cracks in their relationship. Their relationship is further fractured when a high school acquaintance of Andy shows up in their life. He's a hotshot surgeon, a charismatic, philandering but brilliant doctor. Through an unlikely series of events, he ends up moving in upstairs. At this point, there's a lot of pieces on the board, but it's still confusing as to what kind of movie this is. Are we supposed to suspect one of these three characters to be the serial killer? I had guesses and very few answers. As the film progresses, it goes off into weird places. At a certain point, it feels like the movie is actually much more of a law thriller and the serial killer is actually less important. Then, the movie twists and turns in different directions and it's hard to figure out which way is up. From a script perspective, the movie gets credit for keeping us guessing- it's hard to explain what this movie is without just experiencing it. On the other side, though, the movie asks us to suspend our disbelief way too much. It stretches our incredulity to the breaking point and beyond. At a certain point, the insanity of the story feels too much and I started rolling my eyes at each new twist and turn. Taken as a whole, this is a winding, you never know what to expect thriller, but part of that is because none of it makes all that much sense. The events of the film are surprising, but also because they feel too ludicrous and illogical. The movie ultimately sinks under the weight of its lunacy.

The cast is pretty solid. I really like Bill Pullman, even as I acknowledge his limitations as an actor. I would say he's fine here- he has a few nice moments, but it feels like a workaday performance. He shows up, delivers his lines, is never bad, but never really captures our imagination, either. Nicole Kidman is much better. She has flaws in her performance- some moments felt forced and unrealistic, but overall, I thought she showed solid range and kept the audience's eyes on her. She interacts well with the rest of the cast and generally gives a worthwhile, solid performance. Alec Baldwin is interesting- at times, I thought he was charismatic and excellent. However, he needed a bit more restraint in his performance. At times, he allows it go way too over-the-top territory where he almost feels like a caricature, not an actual, authentic character. His highs are high, but his lows hurt the movie. It was fun seeing George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft here, but they are limited to really one scene each. They are solid, memorable scenes, but still fairly limited. It was nice seeing Peter Gallagher in role. We get a bit more time with him, and he mostly works. Tobin Bell was a weird inclusion- his storyline never really gels with the rest of the film, although Bell is solid in his performance. I loved seeing Gwyneth Paltrow in an early, unimportant role. It was fun to see her before she made a name for herself. As a whole, the cast was better than you'd expect for a film like this.

Malice is a decent film- there's something fun about a film that leaves everything on the table. It takes some big swings, many of which don't connect. However, you can never claim this is a movie that plays it safe. That being said, ambitious movies are great, but they need to deliver. This is where the film stumbles. I think Becker is a decent director, but he wasn't talented enough to turn this film into a true success. It might be worth seeing as a curiosity, but it's not nearly as good as it should have been.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Domestic Disturbance, Mercury Rising, To Die For