Malice (1993 film)
Malice | |
---|---|
Directed by | Harold Becker |
Screenplay by | Aaron Sorkin Scott Frank |
Story by | Aaron Sorkin Jonas McCord |
Produced by | Harold Becker Charles Mulvehill Rachel Pfeffer |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gordon Willis |
Edited by | David Bretherton |
Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes[1] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million |
Box office | $61 million[4] |
Malice is a 1993 American
An international co-production between the United States and Canada and released in the fall of 1993, Malice grossed a total of $61 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Andy and Tracy Safian are a newlywed couple living in a Victorian house that they are restoring in Western Massachusetts. He is an Associate Dean at a local women's college, while his wife teaches art to children. They hope to start a family soon. One night before making love, they notice the young boy next door at his window, seemingly watching them. They jokingly refer to him as a voyeur.
When a student on campus is attacked and seriously wounded by a
Andy finds the body of one of his students, who has been raped and murdered by the serial rapist. Police detective Dana Harris interviews Andy as a possible suspect and asks him to provide a
During a deposition in which Jed is accused of having a God complex, Jed delivers a monologue proudly claiming himself infallible as a surgeon, asserting "I am God," due to his ability to heal patients, then storms out. With Hill absent, Tracy's lawyer reveals that Jed had been in a bar the night of the operation. "Ask God how many shots of bourbon he had before he cut me open," Tracy tells the hospital's attorneys. Fearful of the negative publicity that would result from a civil trial, the hospital and Jed's insurance company settle with Andy and Tracy for $20 million. However, Tracy leaves Andy, telling him that she can't forgive him for the loss of her ability to have children.
Andy discovers that the serial rapist is a handyman at the college named Earl. After a struggle, Andy subdues him and Earl is arrested, thus clearing Andy of the crimes. In the aftermath, Dana informs Andy that his semen sample indicated that he was sterile, thereby revealing he wasn't the father of the aborted child. Andy confronts Tracy's lawyer, Dennis Riley, accusing him of having impregnated Tracy. Riley calmly asserts his innocence, but tells Andy that Tracy's mother — who she had told Andy had died 12 years ago — can answer all of his questions. Riley refuses to break attorney–client privilege, but tells Andy to take a bottle of Scotch to her.
Andy tracks down Mrs. Kennsinger, who tells Andy that Tracy is a lifelong
Jed tells Tracy to give Andy what he wants so they can leave the country, but Tracy instead suggests murdering the boy. Jed refuses to kill a child, so Tracy shoots Jed dead. She then slips into the neighbor's house and attempts to suffocate the boy in his chair, only to find a dummy in his place. An enraged Tracy begins to destroy the dummy and attacks Andy after he walks in on her. They fall from the second floor, but they both survive. Detective Harris appears and arrests her, revealing that the boy's supposed agreement to testify against her was part of a sting operation to catch her in the act of attempted murder.
As Tracy is led away in handcuffs, the boy and his mother return home; and while being taken into the police cruiser, Tracy notices that the boy is, in fact, blind. Andy leaves with Dana to have a drink of Scotch.
Cast
- Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jed Hill
- Nicole Kidman as Tracy Safian
- Bill Pullman as Andy Safian
- Bebe Neuwirth as Det. Dana Harris
- Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Kennsinger
- Peter Gallagher as Dennis Riley
- Josef Sommer as Lester Adams
- George C. Scott as Dr. Martin Kessler
- Tobin Bell as Earl Leemus
- David Bowe as Dr. Matthew Robertson
- Debrah Farentino as Nurse Tanya
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Paula Bell
- Brenda Strong as Claudia, Riley's Secretary
- Ann Cusack as Waitress
Production
Malice was shot on location in Boston, Amherst, Holyoke, and Northampton in Massachusetts.[1] Smith College was the setting used for Andy's college.[1]
Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, two of the co-founders of Canadian animation studio Nelvana, worked as executive producers on the film.[6]
Aaron Sorkin expressed his disappointment with the film in 2017, saying, "Early on in my career, I wrote a movie that I’m not very proud of at all, it just turned into a mess." He recounted how Becker asked Sorkin to write a "steamy" sex scene between Baldwin and Kidman's character, which he refused: “I said, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ First of all, I just did a movie with her husband [Tom Cruise]. And second of all, no, I'm not going to write down what I'd like to see Nicole do and then hand the pages out to the crew and Nicole.”[7] The scene was eventually created and filmed without the help of Sorkin.
Release
Malice had its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 29, 1993,[8] and opened on 1,431 screens in the U.S. on October 1, 1993 and grossed $9,232,650 during its opening weekend, ranking number 1 at the US box office. It eventually grossed a total of $46,405,336 in the U.S. and Canada and $15.2 million internationally for a worldwide total of $61.6 million,[9][4]
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 57% approval rating based on 30 reviews.[10] On Metacritic it has a score of 52% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
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."[14] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "No matter how wild the plot reversals, there's always a slightly madder one to come."[15]
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."[16]
In popular culture
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.[17]
In the episode "Terms of Endearment" of the animated television series Drawn Together, the character Wooldoor Sockbat recites the closing lines of Baldwin's speech verbatim.[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Malice". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ "Malice". BFI. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ "Malice (1993)". Kinorium. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Top 100 grossers worldwide, '93-94". Variety. October 17, 1994. p. M-56.
- ^ Hardy 1997, p. 131.
- ^ Adilman, Sid (October 6, 1993). "Toronto producers share movie gravy". Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. p. D.2. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (9 November 2017). "Aaron Sorkin Was Pushed to Write a 'Steamy' Sexy Scene for Nicole Kidman in 'Malice' and Refused". IndieWire.
- ^ "World Premiere of "Malice" – September 29, 1993". Getty Images. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ "Box office information for Malice". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ "Malice (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ "Malice". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "MALICE (1993) B+". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 1, 1993). "Malice". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ Travers, Peter (October 1, 1993). "Malice". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (1 October 1993). "Reviews/ Film; An Idyll Shattered By Rape and Murder". The New York Times.
- ^ Gray, Tim (September 24, 1993). "Review: Malice". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ Jack Burditt, Tina Fey, writers; Don Scardino, director (February 12, 2009). "St. Valentine's Day". 30 Rock. Season 3. Episode 11. NBC.
- ^ "Terms of Endearment". Drawn Together. Season 2. Episode 8. January 26, 2006. Comedy Central.
Works cited
- Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21538-2.
External links
- Malice at IMDb
- Malice at the TCM Movie Database