Malice (1993)

A tale about a happily married couple who would like to have children. Tracy teaches art, Andy's a college dean. Things are never the same after she is taken to hospital and operated upon by Jed, a "know all" doctor.

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (story), Jonas McCord (story)

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alec Baldwin	...	Jed
Nicole Kidman	...	Tracy
Bill Pullman	...	Andy
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Dana
George C. Scott	...	Dr. Kessler
Anne Bancroft	...	Ms. Kennsinger
Peter Gallagher	...	Dennis Riley
Josef Sommer	...	Lester Adams
Tobin Bell	...	Earl Leemus
William Duff-Griffin	...	Dr. George Sullivan
Debrah Farentino	...	Tanya
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Paula Bell
David Bowe	...	Dr. Matthew Robertson
Diana Bellamy	...	Ms. Worthington
Michael Hatt	...	Neighbor Boy

Storyline

A tale about a happily married couple who would like to have children. Tracy teaches children, Andy's a college professor. Things are never the same after she is taken to hospital and operated upon by Jed, a "know it all" doctor.

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Plot Keywords:

surgeon | serial killer | neo noir | femme fatale | woman on top | 

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Taglines:

A thriller from the Director of "Sea of Love"

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and some violence

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bodily Harm

Filming Locations:

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,232,650, 3 October 1993, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$46,044,636

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment,New Line Cinema,Nelvana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening credits, the home that the college student returns to is the former residence of President Calvin Coolidge.

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Goofs

When Tracy's mother does the card trick, she secretly places the card Andy chose in the left pocket of her robe, but she removes it from her right robe pocket before showing it to him.

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Quotes

Jed: [during his deposition] which makes me wonder if this "lawyer" has any idea what kind of grades one must recieve in college to be accepted at a top medical school, if you have the vaguest clue on how talented one must be to lead a surgical team. I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic 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 ...

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: St. Valentine's Day (2009)

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Soundtracks

Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
Written and Performed by Spin Doctors (as Spin Doctors)
Courtesy of Epic / Associated Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

See it once for the suspense, and again for the acting.

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 Safien, 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.