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The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Absence of Malice can be found here.
No. Absence of Malice was written for the screen by screenwriters Kurt Luedtke and David Rayfiel, who say that the story is based on a real-life son of a convicted gangster from Detroit.
Absence of Malice is an ethical and moral term used to describe the decision a journalist must make about whether or not to write and print a newspaper story that may or may not ultimately prove to be true and that may or may not damage an individual's reputation. As the attorney for the Miami Standard points out to reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field) when she is questioning whether or not to print an article revealing the suspected involvement of Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman) in the disappearance and presumed murder of Longshoreman's Union leader Joseph Diaz, they have no knowledge that the story is false, therefore there is absence of malice (evil intent) on Carter's part, and they are justified in printing the story as news.
Michael Gallagher is the son of the late Tommy Gallagher and nephew of Santos Malderone (Luther Adler), both known leaders of the Miami Mafia. Elliott Rosen (Bob Balaban), head of the Justice Department's Organized Crime Strike Force, has had no breaks for over six months in the disappearance of union leader Joseph Diaz, and he believes that the Mafia are involved. He has no reason to suspect Michael Gallagher of any direct involvement but does believe that, by putting the squeeze on him (i.e., leaking the news to the press that he is under investigation), he may be able to force Gallagher into finding out what happened to Diaz.
While visiting the Strike Force office to see whether there has been any breaks in the story about Joey Diaz, Megan discovers that all of the officials are involved in a meeting to discuss Mafia involvement. Later, as she shares a drink with Bob Waddell (Barry Primus), one of the Strike Force officials, Michael Gallagher's name comes up. Searching previous newspaper articles on the Gallaghers, she reads about him having been jailed for assaulting a federal officer at his father's funeral, so she arranges an interview with Elliott Rosen in order to determine how Gallagher is connected to Diaz's presumed murder. Rosen refuses to comment, but he conveniently leaves Gallagher's file sitting on his desk when he has his secretary call him out of the room. In his absence, Megan peeks through the file.
When Megan finally reveals to Gallagher that the source of her information was the file that Rosen conveniently left on his desk for her to see, Gallagher begins to concoct an elaborate plan to catch Rosen at his own game. First, he makes a deal with District Attorney James Quinn (Don Hood), claiming that he will turn over any information he can get about Diaz's disappearance if Quinn will call off the investigation and publicly pronounce him cleared of all suspicion, which Quinn agrees to do. Then he lays a trail of cleverly-devised clues suggesting a link between himself and Quinn, e.g., phone messages arranging meetings and two anonymous donations to the Committee for a Better Miami, one of Quinn's political backers. When Rosen begins to suspect that Gallagher paid off Quinn to clear his name, he orders Waddell to put illegal taps on his phones and arrange for surveillance everywhere Gallagher goes. Waddell, being a good friend of Megan, alerts her to Gallagher's "deal" with Quinn and warns her to cut off her relationship with Gallagher before she gets hurt. Although the information was revealed to Megan in confidence, she decides to print it in the newspaper, the headline reading Strike Force Probes Quinn-Gallagher Link. This is brought to the attention of James Wells (Wilford Brimley), Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Organized Crime Department of the U.S. Department of Justice, who summons everyone involved--Gallagher, Quinn, Rosen, Waddell, and Megan--to an informal inquiry pending a formal hearing in front of the Grand Jury. Megan is asked to provide her source of the Quinn-Gallagher link, but she refuses. Gallagher and Quinn are cleared of any wrong-doings or illegal bribes, and Rosen is charged with running a bogus investigation and given 30 days notice. In the final scenes, Megan visits Gallagher on his boat. She informs him that she may be leaving the Miami Standard. Gallagher says that he's sold his house and will probably head up the coast to visit his daughter. They wish each other well, Megan walks away, and Gallagher heads out to sea.
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