Malice

Thank you .

MALICE is one of those movies that you simply MUST see more than once to believe. The first time through, MALICE is a great psychological thriller, with twists and turns through a plot that contains rape, murder, life-and-death trauma, and a fight to the death...all within the first 45 minutes. The second time through, though, provides a look at all the things you might have missed the first time around...and a chance to savor an outstanding performance from perhaps the most underrated actor in Hollywood, Alec Baldwin.Bill Pullman plays Andy Safian, an associate dean at a small New England college outside of Boston that's currently under siege by a serial rapist who claims his latest victim as the film opens. Nicole Kidman plays his wife Tracy, a volunteer in the pediatrics ward of St. Agnes Hospital. They're renovating a Victorian house and need $14,000 for the plumbing. Enter Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jed Hill, a former high school classmate of Andy's, who's brand new in town and needs a place to stay. Andy needs the money, Jed needs a room, so the two hook up and soon Jed is sleeping upstairs in the Safiens' home...usually not alone, and his sexual escapades are grating on Tracy's nerves. The rapes continue, Andy is fingered as a suspect, and in the midst of it all, Tracy collapses with a ruptured ovarian cyst. Jed operates to save her life (after a night of drinking and wild partying), but renders her unable to bear children...leading to a malpractice suit from Tracy and an incredible soliloquy on surgeons with a God complex from Jed during the deposition.But once the first half of the film is over, things really start to roll. Without revealing the rest of the plot, suffice it to say that as Andy, Tracy, and Jed all try to start their lives over again, their fates become inextricably entangled.The movie is worth seeing once as a thriller. But the second time around, Baldwin's mesmerizing performance is what stands out. Jed is charismatic, seductive, and as charming as a cobra as he weaves his spell over the Safiens. Baldwin's ability to jump from utterly charming to incredibly chilling in the blink of an eye is on full display here; it is truly the performance of a lifetime.See it once for the suspense, and again for the acting.

Very unusual especially for 1993 time period. If you are from or like Boston must watch. Twists and turns that are not expected. Makes you think one thing and then it isn't. Then, it is what you think and then again, WOW--it isn't. Pretty good acting as the lead role in one of Nicole Kidman's first film roles. She has grown a lot as an actress. Alec Balwin's character shady and I thought this was going to be another Michael Keaton type movie of Pacific Heights. No, it isn't. Watch it as it is not what you think. Also, Anne Bancroft is the stand out in the film. A terrific actress who should've been nominated for best supporting. Outstanding!

"Malice" wants to be a classic "film noir" from the 1950's set in the early 1990's. Alec Baldwin is cast to type as the arrogant Doctor Hill, who moves in with Andy (Bill Pullman), an acquaintance from college, and his wife Tracy (Nicole Kidman). Andy is a rather mild-mannered college professor. When three of his female students are brutally assaulted and one is murdered, Andy becomes the prime suspect. But this is merely a "red herring" in a psychological thriller overloaded with foreshadowing about "Good versus Evil." When Andy introduces Tracy to the Doctor, he says, "Speak of the devil, and the devil appears." Later, Baldwin, at his snarky best, hisses at a medical review board, "You say I have a God Complex, well... I AM GOD!" Baldwin, Kidman, and Pullman are fine as the main trio playing a game of cat and mouse, but Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, and even a nondescript, "blink and you will miss her" Gwyneth Paltrow are wasted in brief cameo appearances. Deception, greed, sex, and revenge run rampant in the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank. But the plot twists are never quite as tight or compelling as they could have been. The three main characters fall into familiar archetypes. Bill Pullman is caught between Alec Baldwin's devious doctor and Nicole Kidman's "femme fatale." Everything would have been much more interesting, for instance, if there had been steamy sexual tension between Alec Baldwin and Bill Pullman instead of Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman.

"Malice" is one of those sleeper hits that seem to exist in order for people to recommend it to each other. The low-key approach definitely suits this flick as it gets to catch viewers off-guard with what might well be Hollywood's all-time twistiest thriller plot. Just to give you a taste of what you're in for, "Malice" introduces us to a college campus being terrorized by a serial rapist - most movies would be content to stop there, but in "Malice" this is all just the first-act subplot that sets the rest of the story into motion!In similar sneaky fashion, "Malice" is also secretly the finest hour for all three of its' stars portfolios. Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, and Bill Pullman have never been so compelling as they are here, before or since. And I'll stop there, because "Malice" works best when it sneaks up on you, and after it does you'll be tempted to say to the next person, "Have you ever seen that movie 'Malice'...?"

Malice is directed by Harold Becker and co-written by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank from a story by Jonas McCord. It stars Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Bebe Neuwirth and Josef Sommer. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Gordon Willis.Andy (Pullman) and Tracy Safian (Kidman) take in a respectable Dr. Jed Hill (Baldwin) as a lodger thinking he ticks all the ace lodger boxes. However, he turns out to be far from ace and after having to perform emergency surgery on Tracy, the Safian's world gets turned upside down...Malice is an old fashioned thriller, it has flaws and major implausibilities, but if taken on its own popcorn thriller terms it rounds out as a good night's entertainment. There's considerable thriller talent involved in the production, with Becker (Sea of Love), Frank (Dead Again), Sorkin (A Few Good Men), Kidman (Dead Calm) and Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) all having been party to producing some quality genre offerings. It's loaded with betrayals and shifty shenanigans, and when the surprises come they are genuinely smart and worth the wait. But why the makes decided to tag in a pointless serial killer sub-plot is anyone's guess since it has no bearing on the otherwise well thought out story. Cast are on form, with Baldwin revelling in oily egomania and Pullman classical in gullible's travels mode.You will wish it had a more thundering climax, even if it is actually a touch clever, and credibility is often stretched to breaking point, but Malice operates out of the upper echelons of 1990s thrillers and still remains entertaining today. 7/10

Superb, tight script, excellent construction and fine acting from a worthy cast. This is a strangely under-rated film but is one of my favourites, mainly for the quality of Aaron Sorkin's writing. I won't attempt to describe the plot. Suffice to say that I've known a few surgeons who come pretty close to Dr Jed Hill. Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman have never been better, but the movie is almost stolen by Anne Bancroft's wonderful cameo as Kidman's alcoholic mother with a taste for single malt whiskey. Most memorable line must be Alec Baldwin's God complex speech : "You ask me whether I have a God complex ? I AM GOD". Brilliant.

Well, Alec Baldwin in this movie is absolutely stunning, so worth watching just for that, but his acting is superb too. Wow, is he sexy! Seriously though, the plot goes all over the place, and there are odd things that don't tie up, like pieces in a jigsaw that don't belong. Overall though, it's really enjoyable and the brilliant actors make it well worth a watch. A great watch too. Buy and enjoy.

I wonder if this is a copied DVD ? Pirated ? The quality is good enough but the screen is small.

Here, you can see flashes of the genius that is Aaron Sorkin (one of the writers), but he's either in an early, raw stage of his development, or he wasn't allowed to get his way quite so much as he does later on in his superb career.Decent story, though it takes a while for it to get going and reveal its true face; solid performances from the three leads; and a satisfying conclusion.