User Reviews

In Massachusetts, there is a rapist attacking young women and Detective Dana (Bebe Neuwirth) is investigating the cases. The college professor Andy Safian (Bill Pullman) and his former student and presently school teacher Tracy (Nicole Kidman) are happily married and are trying to have a baby. When the last victim of the rapist that studies at Andy's college is sent to the Saint Agnes Hospital, the surgeon Dr. Jed Hill (Alec Baldwin) saves her life. Andy recognizes Jed that had studied with him and they become close to each other. Soon Andy invites Jed to rent a room in his house to help him in the expenses despite Tracy's protest. When Tracy has a miscarriage, Jed takes the decision of removing her ovary with the support of Andy to save her life without waiting for the results from the laboratory. Soon he leans that Tracy's ovary was healthy and she decides to sue the hospital in US$ 20 million, using her friend, the lawyer Dennis Riley (Peter Gallagher). Tracy leaves Andy and accuses Jed of God Complex. When another student of Andy's college is murdered by the rapist, Andy becomes a suspect and has to donate sperm to prove his innocence. When Detective Dana shows Andy the laboratory result that clears him, he finds that he is sterile. Now Andy decides to investigate his wife deeper and finds hidden secrets about her.

"Malice" is a great thriller from the 90's, with a plot with many twists. Alec Baldwin has a magnificent performance in the role of an ambitious doctor with God Complex. The twists lead the viewer to different directions and the truth about Tracy is totally unpredictable. Last but not the least, it is great to see the young cast with Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher and Gwyneth Paltrow working with the veterans George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Malícia" ("Malice")

Have seen this film several times and am hooked. Even though I know the outcome, who cares. It's worth it just to see these fine actors do their thing as they do best. Alec Baldwin, who never ceases to amaze me in his work, is splendid as the doctor/villain [and what a smoothie he is]. His God "complex" speech is one of the highlights. Then there's the delicious Nicole Kidman, as the demon wife of a mild schoolteacher, who goes for the icing on the cake by knocking off anyone that gets in her way. What makes her performance stand out to me is that, as wild and evil as she can be, there's also a vulnerability in her portrayal. You actually care what happens to her, even though you know she deserves to get caught. This is the worst kind of a villain. One that you hope won't get caught. I loved the scene in the bar where she confronts her husband with smiles and flirting only to realize it won't work. The change of expression and attitude was delightful. Thanks, Nicole. And Bill Pullman, being given a sort of wimpish character to play, brings it way up to the same level as the stronger characters with his performance. He does an outstanding job in this flick. I've not seen his work before, but will surely look for more roles in the future. Playing smaller roles are Bebe Neuwirth as a cop who helps our professor solve the case, and Gwyneth Paltrow, in one of her earlier roles playing a bimbo student under Pullman's tutelege who unfortunately becomes a victim of a serial rapist. George C. Scott appears, quite briefly, as a sort of chief surgeon defending Baldwin's reputation in the medical profession, Peter Gallagher [that handsome devil] appears as Kidman's lawyer in two scenes and that incredible Anne Bancroft in one scene, but she almost steals the picture with her alcoholic card tricks. Annie's the best! Director Harold Becker does a good job with his stellar cast, but sometimes the film is too dark. At least on television it comes off hard to see. But I loved the scene when Nicole is waiting in her car for Pullman to leave so she can move in on the little boy next door in the window. The lighting coming from behind her gave her curley red hair a kind of glow. Terrific shot. This is a story by Aaron Gorkin and written for the screen by Jonas McCord. They say it's a copy of another story, however, I don't know about that. I enjoyed this one, but my hat's off to the performers. They brought this one up to the high place of good ensemble acting.

Another movie that depicts the pure brilliance of Nicole Kidman. Her multifaceted portrayal steals the show. But on with the action.

Some spoilers.

This is probably the first time ever that a serial killer is used only to further the main plot, which turns out to be something else entirely. The story starts out easy enough: a happy couple, Tracy and Andy, live in a nice little town, where he's a college dean and she is a kindergarten teacher. She adores children and is being treated with oestrogen to increase the chances of getting pregnant. He loves her and dotes on her. So far, so good.

Then one day he meets an old school friend, who in the mean time has become a very successful surgeon. Since Jed is new in town, he is offered hospitality by his old friend. Of course, we guess immediately that there's something fishy about him. Inevitably, one day disaster strikes: Tracy is rushed to emergency room because of severe abdominal pain. Jed finds he has to remove her ovaries, thus also terminating a first trimester pregnancy.

Later it turns out that Jed made an error in judgment; one of Tracy's ovaries could have been saved. She receives an important amount money out of her malpractice suit, but what good does it do if she can never have children? She is bitter, her relationship to Andy takes irrepairable damage and she leaves him. Jed obviously has to move out. End of story?

Far from it. Since there is no such thing as a perfect crime, details that do not easily fall into place nag at Andy. Helped along by a rather surprising revelation courtesy of the local police, he follows the voice of his doubts and finds out more than he probably ever wanted to know.

The final twist is both cute (for its implausibility) and chilling, since it shows just how far people are willing to go in order to obtain, and keep, what they regard as happiness.

I was so disappointed because I was hoping this movie was all gonna be about a murder mystery involving the two murdered college girls. Once they catch the janitor (killer) half way throughout the movie - its sort of disappointing - because I thought Jed would be the killer - but then they had to bring all that Nicole Kidman is the villain stuff, and it sorta ruined it. It was almost like there was two different plots to the movie and the first didn't really seem to be a big deal. I did like the end though - acting was good too (great cast). If you want to watch a good thriller, you probably won't be happy with this, but there was plenty of suspense.

Take a surgeon with a God complex, a perfect young wife who loves kids, add a sincere doofus of a husband and you will have Malice, an intricate insurance-murder mystery that leaves a satisfyingly full-bodied, nasty taste in your mouth.

Andy Safian (Bill Pullman) is a decent, sincere dean at a picture-perfect small college in a picture-perfect New England town. His wife, Tracy (Nicole Kidman), volunteers at a children's center five days a week. They've just bought an old, rundown Victorian house they plan to remodel and fill with kids of their own. In to town comes Dr. Jed Hill (Alec Baldwin), the hospital's new surgeon and a hot shot cutter. Andy and Jed meet the same day and Jed winds up renting Andy's and Tracy's third floor room. Jed needs a place to stay temporarily and Andy and Tracy can use the extra income for remodeling expenses.

And then Tracy starts to have abdominal pains. One night she's rushed to the hospital, where Jed operates after getting Andy's permission. Jed removes an ovary he says was cancerous. It turns out Tracy had been pregnant and the ovary was healthy. A medical hearing is held. The result is that Tracy is awarded $20 million, but she is so angry with Andy that she leaves him. Ah, but there's more. To say what would ruin a good mystery. Let's just say that there are a lot of twists and that things very often aren't what they seem. There is some really unpleasant manipulation going on, plus a degree of sexual ruthlessness that would make a fine entry into Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis.

The most serious drawback to the movie is a major red herring involving a serial criminal that goes nowhere. The purpose seems only to give Andy a reason to spend the last half of the movie with a seriously bruised face. There also is a semi-red herring involving a doctor in another town that, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out. I think it was most likely a plot point that became a loose string the director figured the audience would forget about.

The movie features fine performances by all. Pullman's decent guy persona drives the second half of the movie. Two one-off cameos by George C. Scott as a respected surgeon and Anne Bancroft as...well, you'll need to see the movie...are both important to the plot. Bebe Neuwirth as police detective Dana Harris, a friend of Andy's, nearly steals every scene she's in. She uses an accent that reminds me of Maerose Prizzi, but even so she radiates no- nonsense common sense and a real concern for Andy. Nicole Kidman is what the movie is all about. She gives a performance that is subtle and forceful. Amazingly, 16 years after she made this movie her forehead still has no trace of a wrinkle. Alec Baldwin has spent the latter half of his movie career specializing in unlikable egoists. Here he's interesting and at least a little likable. And does his character, Dr. Jed Hill, really have a God complex? Here's what Dr. Hill has to say for himself: "I have an M.D. from Harvard. I am board certified in cardio- thoratic medicine and trauma surgery. I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you: When someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trauma from post-operative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, and you go to your church...and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle. But if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November 17, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God."

On balance, Malice is a nifty piece of complex nastiness.

Caught this on late night TV -- can it be almost 25 years ago? wow. Most of the folks here have gone to amazing careers, and need no introduction -- Baldwin, Kidman, Pullman, scriptwriter Sorkin.

But this is a terribly written movie -- handsomely produced -- finest actors -- but ultimately feels like a manipulative rip-off. I am not sure I processed that back in '93, because I knew less about both fertility treatments and the legal system.

For starters: "Jeb Hill" (Baldwin) is an absolutely top surgeon at an MA hospital, but is willing to operate on his GIRLFRIEND, rendering her both sterile and MENOPAUSAL (!!!) by removing both of her ovaries -- for a lousy $20 million? Hello? the actor was 34 here, so presumably his character is roughly this age -- a surgeon at the BEGINNING of a brilliant, 35 plus year career -- and who would throw it AWAY for a lousy $20 million?

Wait a sec. But it isn't $20 million. $20 mil is the SETTLEMENT, meaning Kidman's lawyers skim a minimum of 30% off the top, and more likely 40%. Let's go with 30% though. Now it is only $14 million. And the two con artists would presumably be splitting it -- they are not even married -- so that's a lousy $7 million each. (In reality, this would have gone to trial -- Dr. Hill's remarks were off the record, and he would have retracted them -- and that would have probably meant way less even than this.)

$7 million? to give up your CAREER, which presumably Hill loves and is brilliant at-- to retire in his early 30s? A thoracic surgeon probably earned close to half a million a YEAR back then -- over just 20 years that is $10 million by itself.

And Kidman was willing to go through SURGICAL MENOPAUSE to get her $7 million? with all of the risks, discomforts, etc. of early menopause? The script keeps saying "children" but she never wanted kids (*because we all know that mean bee-yotches in movies are not maternal and hate kids). But did she want the OTHER risks and miseries of menopause? or the side effects of taking estrogen pills for the next 20 years? HOT FLASHES? hair loss, weight gain, dry skin, sexual side effects?

Are you kidding me? If a woman HAD $7 million, she'd probably gladly pay every penny to be able to NOT go through early menopause!

It is as if the scriptwriters had no idea what really happens to women to lose their ovaries. They did not do even the most minimal research.

Today, this would be even greater hooey, since it would be easy to have tested the aborted fetus to determine if it was Bill Pullman's biological child, which would have blown the whole lawsuit apart. The plot line with him accused of rape feels manipulative.

Also the end with the whole "blind child they think has seen everything" -- unbelievably hokey and "convenient". The whole script is just stupid & manipulative.

Only bright spot is a small role by the legendary Anne Bancroft -- giving everyone here a master's class in art of real acting (as Kidman's drunk, hostile mother). Though whoever thought that dark, ethnic looking Bancroft could be the mom of pale, lanky redhead Kidman doesn't know much about genetics as well. And what abusive DRUNK cares if they drink single malt scotch? Do the writers here know that a single malt costs about 10 times what a bottle of cheap whiskey costs? No drunk would make that cost/benefit analysis and decide to drink the hoity-toity stuff.

A film that was never very good and has aged badly. Only interesting to see Kidman (a tremendous natural beauty here at 25) and Alec Baldwin (a super-hottie in his day) when young. Baldwin especially has matured into an hilarious comedian, once he aged past his hottie stage.

Only worth viewing again for Bancroft's terrific scene, which is only about 4 minutes out of the whole film.