Malice (1993)

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers (WGA):

Aaron Sorkin (story) and
Jonas McCord (story) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Her doctor wasn't playing God. He thought he was God.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | College | Hospital | Feeding Someone | Medical Advice

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Dr. Jed Hill
Nicole Kidman	...	Tracy Kennsinger
Bill Pullman	...	Andy Safian
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Det. Dana Harris
George C. Scott	...	Dr. Martin Kessler
Anne Bancroft	...	Mrs. Kennsinger
Peter Gallagher	...	Atty. Dennis Riley
Josef Sommer	...	Atty. Lester Adams
Tobin Bell	...	Earl Leemus
William Duff-Griffin	...	Dr. George Sullivan
Debrah Farentino	...	Nurse Tanya
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Paula Bell
David Bowe	...	Dr. Matthew Robertson
Diana Bellamy	...	Ms. Worthington
Michael Hatt	...	Neighbor Boy

Also Known As:

Bodily Harm (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and some violence.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Australia:PG | Australia:M (TV rating) | Philippines:R-18 (re-rating) | Philippines:X (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The original title was "Damages".

Goofs:

Continuity: The doctor's address on the Rolodex card is 36 Hedges Lane, but the mailbox on the house states 38 Hedges Lane.

Quotes:

Jed: 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 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 trama from postoperative shock...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Bob Saget/TLC (#20.19)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

Jed,Andy,Tracy and the jack of clubs.

The first thing to bear in mind is that there are (like in Hitchcock's "family plot",there the comparison ends)TWO distinct plots :

-The threesome Baldwin/Pullman/Kidman and the ominous plans of some of them.

-And then a serial killer who hangs about the campus ,in the college where Andy works.

There's a very thin ,very thin connection between the two stories,and it's a question of ...well I will not write a spoiler.

The screenplay is far-fetched,but has enough unexpected twists to sustain the interest till the very end (yes,even the very last sequence contains a "revelation") But the real meat lies in one sequence.A bewildered Andy pays a visit to an old alcoholic shrew ,played by Mrs Bancroft.Had she had a more important part,she 'd have stolen the show hands down.Every minute of this sequence is a lesson young actresses should pay attention to.Dig the way she delivers the line :"welcome to the club".

"Malice" is fun to watch,after a hard day's labor.Not much food for thought,but entertaining throughout