Review of Absence of Malice (1981) by Bluejane O — 02 Oct 2009
One of the rare newspaper movies that DOESN'T show the press as a selfless crusader for the underdog. The scene where Newman confronts Fields in the warehouse after the death of his friend is amazingly good--much better than the rest of the movie.
In fact, I'd argue the film pretty much peaks there. It's hard to see how Newman and Fields could possibly get together after that. Wilford Brimley is outstanding as the no nonsense Justice department official while Melinda Dillon is also very good.
Only Bob Balaban stands out as a weak link, theatrically playing with a rubber band in every scene he's in to give him some "business". It comes off as the phoney acting device it is.
This review of Absence of Malice (1981) was written by Bluejane O on 02 Oct 2009.
Absence of Malice has generally received positive reviews.
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