Charming and brutal

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Those willing to indulge in a 1993 thriller had better be prepared to take a bit of the rough with the smooth. For example, the opening credits and music of Harold Decker's "Malice" are likely to deter all but the most determined, as then will be the rather scratchy look of the film-stock. But that would be a pity, as this film - when it gets going - is pretty good stuff. Alec Baldwin, Bil Pullman, Nicole Kidman, Bebe Neuwirth, George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft and even Gwyneth Paltrow may seem like an embarrassment of riches, but remember this is 1993, so Paltrow is just 22 here, and takes a small role. The others are also closer to the beginnings of their careers, but someone clearly had a good eye, and these actors easily take command of the film and - this being 1993 - maybe even come close to overacting by today's standards. But still...This movie weaves in a large number of dark elements, and is rich enough to allow two completely separate film-noir sub-plots to appear, develop and reach fruition in the company of the same characters. That's pretty unusual. And the core cast of Baldwin-Kidman and Pullman are indeed great, though (a pretty sexy) Kidman particularly so. However, all three play characters who have far, far more to them than meets the eye, and watching that all come out is highly satisfying. Though I invariably fill my reviews with spoilers, I'll elect not to do so here. My job is to tell anyone interested that - old as it may be - "Malice" is well worth a look for anyone keen on quality thrillers who has not seen it yet. And those making the committment will indeed enjoy having this complex and interesting story unfold over them.

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 a hospital and operated upon by Jed, a "know all" doctor.Roger Ebert called the film "one of the busiest movies I've ever seen, a film jampacked with characters and incidents and blind alleys and red herrings." Many critics mention the red herrings and this has led to the film being critically downplayed, getting mixed reviews. In fact, this was a large part of what I enjoyed -- finding out every so often that things I thought were important really made no difference.The best thing about films like this is that they make you (or at least me) want to watch them again to see what was missed. Surely knowing some outcomes will make the second viewing all the more interesting.

After a fellow IMDb'er recently told me that she is a fan of the Erotic-Thriller Basic Instic,I decided to go on the IMDb List and Recomandation board,to ask if there were any other Erotic- Thriller's,that a fan of Basic Instinct would enjoy.Checking the very kind lists of recs that I received from the board,I was surprised to find out that one of her fav actress's (Nicole Kidman) had made an Erotic-Thriller.Taking a look at the info of the movie,whilst also taking part in a poll that was being held on the IMDb Classic Film board for the best titles of 1993,I was disappointed to find out that Malice had come out in 1993,due to there not being enough time for me to get hold of the movie before the poll closed.A week later:With having stayed pretty quiet about my disappointment over not being able to watch Malice for the poll,I was completely caught by surprise,when a very kind IMDb'er gave me the great offer of being able to borrow the title,which led to me excitingly getting ready to come face to face with Malice for the first time.The plot:Rushing to the local hospital after being told that one of his students has been found brutally raped and left for dead,college professor Andy Safian talks to the hospital's leading doctor:Dr Jed Hill.To Andy's relief,Jed tells Hill,that although the patient was very close to dying,he has thankfully been able to save her.Joining her husband at the hospital,Andy introduces his wife Tracy Kennsinger to Jed Hill,who Andy praises for saving the life of one of his students.Strugling to think of a way that he can fully say thank you to Hill,Safian decides to ignore the objection's raised by Tracy,and offers Jed to become a tenet (for free) of the top floor in the new house that Andy and Tracy have recently brought.Astonished by Safian's display of kindness,Hill accepts the offer,and tells Andy that he will do everything he can to help the couple with the pregnancy problems the Safian has recently told Jed that he and his wife are suffering from.A few days later:Playing some darts and sharing a round of drinks with his work mates,Jed suddenly gets a call from the hospital,who tell Hill that he needs to come in right away,so that he can perform an emergency operation on a patient who has just been brought in to the hospital.Arriving at the hospital,Jed is horrified to discover that the dying patient is in fact Tracy Kennsinger,who is suffering from a raptured ovaries,due to a cyst.Taking X-Ray's shortly before operating to remove the ovaries,Hill discovers that Tracy is in fact 5 weeks pregnant…View on the film:Avoiding the easy option of turning the movie into a simple "skin" show, (with the only main showing of flesh in the film being a naked,possibly body doubled,Nicole Kidman) director Harold Becker instead takes the film into a slivering Neo-Noir direction.For the first 30 minutes of the movie,Becker and cinematography Gordon Willis use Autumn colours to create a strong feeling of a varnish being added to the cheerful lives of Andy and Tracy.As Any and Tracy start to develop a friendship with Jed Hill,Becker rips the varnish off shred by shred,to reveal,that underneath the "shiny" appearance,lays wood that is covered by decaying greed and betrayal.Whilst Scott Frank and Aaron Sorkin's (with future Sorkin regular Joshua Malina also featuring in a small role) screenplay does feature a serial killer, (played by future "Jigsaw" Tobin Bell) who seems to have been chucked in just because the writer's seemed to suspect that the movie was lacking a needless serial killer angle,Frank and Sorkin smartly decide to use the first half an hour of the film to build up the relationships between the character's,so that they can then delightfully spend the rest of this Neo-Noir's time revealing the dark betrayal's lurking beneath,with Sorkin showing an early ear for whip-smart dialogue,as Sorkin gives Jed Hill cracking lines,that makes the character sound like a walking mega manic.Entering the film in blistering form,Alec Baldwin gives a delightfully scenery cheering performance as Dr.Jed Hill,thanks to Baldwin delivering the terrific dialogue with an irresistible relish,and Baldwin also showing Jed slowly change,from a mild-mannered,good hearted doctor,into something much more sinister.Along with Baldwin,Bill Pullman gives the film some real folk-like charm,as the very out of his comfort zone Andy,whilst Anne Bancroft gives a great,deranged,Miss Havisham style performance,and Nicole Kidman gives a strong,icy Femme Fatle dame performance,which unleashes the full malicious darkness contained within this varnished Neo-Noir.

I am a mystery/thriller fan and Malice is the kind of first-rate thriller that rarely comes along any more. One that truly challenges the expectations of the audience and involves red herrings and misdirection.Set in an upper scale New England college town, Malice focuses on happily married college dean Bill Pullman and wife Nicole Kidman. The town is reeling from a series of serial murders by an unknown killer and Kidman is more than a bit perturbed when Pullman decides to rent their upstairs room out to school buddy and egocentric surgeon Alec Baldwin.If you think that you know where Malice is going from that synopsis, then think again. There are several plots at work in Malice and the one that we think will be the main focus becomes a rather neat little red herring. The film is cleverly written, adeptly acted and Harold Becker (of Sea of Love fame) provides tight direction. It is a joy to re-watch the film to see how adroitly the filmmakers and writers use our expectations against us.The film also keeps us guessing. It provides us with a set of characters who seem to fit neatly into the thriller genre and then sets about to confound us. For instance, Kidman's character seems destined from the opening moments to be the quintessential damsel in distress. The cuddly, well-meaning heroine whose world is invaded by an untrustworthy and unwanted boarder, who may be far more malevolent than even she believes. However, the film turns that assumption on its head and allows the actress to run the gamut from A to Z. And she does so admirably - this is arguably one of her best and most underrated performances.Pullman is quite appealing as the ostensibly nice guy dean. Baldwin nails his role as the swaggering surgeon with a major God complex. His mid-film meltdown under a cross-examination is really quite marvelous to watch, as is Kidman's droll comeback to his posturing. Bebe Neuwirth also scores a memorable turn as a local cop investigating the deaths. Gwyneth Paltrow has a brief part as an irresponsible student. Plus we get well-delineated cameos by George C. Scott, as Baldwin's former mentor, and Anne Bancroft, hamming it up in a surprise role.The film has genuine thrills, but it also keeps the audience consistently guessing as to who is doing what to whom and who is responsible for what. There are double-dealings and double-crosses, but all of them seem completely credible, and the film is also refreshingly free of gory violence.If the film has any real flaws it is merely an over-reliance on melodrama in the latter fourth. Additionally it seems unlikely that the mastermind behind the main plot would fall for such a suspicious snare as gets laid out in the climax. However, these seem relatively minor quibbles for a film that so astutely knows how to manipulate viewers and confound their initial impressions.