Review of Malice (1993) by Jeffrey L — 14 Jan 2013

Surely everyone enjoys a decent thriller every now and then, so why not check out Malice? A somewhat preposterous story that has appealing leads and somewhat decent twists and turns, most will up this to higher standards than other films of the same genre. That said, one should not get their hopes up too much as covering familiar ground soon becomes inevitable.

Set in suburbia, the relationship of a happily married couple (at first, anyway) heads for a downward slide due to their infertility. But things just get worse when Bill Pullman's former schoolmate named Jed (Alec Baldwin) settles into town as a seemingly sharp surgeon. When Tracy (Nicole Kidman) suddenly undergoes an emergency operation, Jed is the selected professional to operate on her. Things get undeniably tough, however when he claims she was pregnant and must abort the baby to save her life. Devastated beyond belief and suspicious that he was drinking prior to making this decision, the couple takes him to court when she recovers from the surgery to file for malpractice. They win, but this just puts more strain on their relationship, causing Tracy to leave...and then we go down a windy road leading to a heated conclusion.

This thriller is more spiffed up than expected with some decent chills to be had, though predictability is just around the corner. A handful of side plots (particularly one with a serial killer and another with a neighbor kid witnessing some traumatic events) add some zest, but mostly seem to exist for making the film longer. Deluxe east coast filming locations are attractive yet also are surprisingly eerie for the dark turns throughout the film. Anne Bancroft is good in a small part as Kidman's long lost mother in addition to Gwyneth Paltrow in one of her early roles as Pullman's student.