Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Malice

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for violence, nudity, adult situations, strong sexual content, profanity.

Reviewed by: Brett Willis
STAFF WRITER

Moral Rating: Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Length: 1 hr. 47 min.
Year of Release: 1993
USA Release:
Box art for “Malice”
Featuring Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Bebe Neuwirth, Josh Malina
Director Harold Becker
Producer Harold Becker
Distributor Distributor: Columbia Pictures. Trademark logo.Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures

This film kept my attention because I had no idea what to expect next. I wouldn’t watch it a second time. Though well acted, its only really strong point is that it takes the viewer in unexpected directions.

College dean Andy Safian and his wife Tracy (Bill Pullman and Nicole Kidman) are beginning to live the good life, restoring an old house the way they want it and hoping to start a family. But Andy’s happy situation is shattered by the fact that a serial rapist and sometime killer is loose on campus. Also, Andy provides an old classmate, Dr. Jed Hill, with temporary living quarters in an attic bedroom. Dr. Hill (Alec Baldwin) is a hard drinker, a nurse-chaser and an egomaniacal surgeon (he once worked at an abortion clinic—which by the way doesn’t even require a surgeon’s license—but has now come to believe that his surgical skills make him about equal to God). Soon, there’s all kinds of trouble between Andy, Tracy and Dr. Hill. It turns out that the main theme of the film is something completely different from what we first assume; however, there’s a small, but vital link between the two themes.

Content: There’s heavy profanity, implied rape and other simulated or implied sex acts (both marital and nonmarital). Unless I missed it while blinking, there’s no explicit nudity (that is, characters may sometimes be nude, but discreet camera angles are always used). There’s murder, violence and betrayal; and if you’re pro-life you’ll be very offended—as I was—by one particular plot twist. Although the “bad guys” are eventually taken care of, the road to that resolution is pretty disgusting and there’s no redemptive content to speak of. I recommend skipping this one.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
I saw this movie before becoming a Christian, and found it to be a very well made film at the time. I considered the way the director wove the plot together to be one of the best. However, I now cannot recommend this film. The violence and swearing in it are just too much. My Ratings: [2/4]
Jeff Unrau, age 31