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Malice
MGM // R // November 21, 2000
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
There are generally two types of thrillers -- the 'whodunnit?', where some sort of crime is committed, and with the hero(es) of the film, we're left to guess the identity of the guilty party until the inevitable reveal and subsequent battle to the finish, and the other being the stalker film, where...well, that's pretty self-explanatory. "Malice" is considered to be a thriller, despite not really falling into either of the above categories and its lack of any thrills or suspense. Hmm. The appeal of "Malice", I suppose, is that there are so many twists and turns in the plot that the viewer can't possibly predict where the film will go next. That, of course, makes "Malice" a fairly difficult film to summarize, since if I give even a single twist away, I'll be flooded with hate mail. (Well, not really, but I'll try to be respectful anyway.)
In "Malice", storybook couple professor Andy Safian and his wife Tracey (Bill Pullman and Nicole Kidman) need some money to improve the plumbing in their house, and they take in a boarder to help meet ends -- Jed Hill, a brilliant surgeon that went to high school with Andy. When Tracey's abdominal pains become too much to bear, Jed operates and makes a judgment call with dire consequences. Oh yeah, and there's a serial rapist/killer on campus. To say anymore would spoil the fun, or what little fun there is to be had. The cast is top-notch, and seeing Gwyneth Paltrow in an early, not-overly-flattering role is pretty entertaining. Other supporting cast members include George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Peter Gallagher (who, okay, isn't really in the same league), all of whom shine during their roles that each amount to little more than cameos. "Malice" has some great acting and memorable monologues, but those alone aren't able to save the film, which just didn't seem engaging.
Video: I haven't seen the discontinued "Malice" disc to compare/contrast, but one improvement this disc has over previous releases is a widescreen-enhanced transfer. Clarity is decent, although a couple of shots seem particularly soft. This could be the way the film was shot, I suppose. "Malice" is one of the grainier discs I've seen, with mild grain present in the majority of the film. I have a tendency to nitpick about grain in my reviews, but this is one of the few discs I've seen where the grain was genuinely distracting. The problems don't end there, though. When Tracey and another character are walking together on the beach, a massive yellow splotch appears for several seconds on the upper-right-hand portion of the screen. There was also a 'jitter' near the end before the credits rolled, almost as if someone were nudging the screen. For a film released in 1993, the image quality of "Malice" is a little disappointing, though not unwatchable. I do hope that this isn't going to be indicative of MGM's hundreds of releases for 2001.
Audio: The Dolby Digital stereo surround track, thankfully, fares much better. Jerry Goldsmith's score sounds incredible and enveloping, easily the audio highlight of "Malice". The limited amount of gunplay and fighting are similarly well-represented, and the dialogue is clear and free of hiss and distortion. Above average.
Supplements: The menu lists a "theatrical trailer", but interestingly, it's a full-frame promo apparently geared towards owners and managers of video rental stores.
Conclusion: A few years ago, I was involved in a discussion on Usenet about the massive plot holes in "Malice". It had been a while since I had seen the film, so my argument was pretty weak, and I have to admit that I got this disc solely to see if I was right or not. Knowing what to expect the second time around made the film a little more comprehensible, but the number of twists -- possibly only matched by "Wild Things" -- borders on ridiculous. "Malice" is a thriller that feels as if it's trying too hard, and I can't recommend it as anything more than a rental.
In "Malice", storybook couple professor Andy Safian and his wife Tracey (Bill Pullman and Nicole Kidman) need some money to improve the plumbing in their house, and they take in a boarder to help meet ends -- Jed Hill, a brilliant surgeon that went to high school with Andy. When Tracey's abdominal pains become too much to bear, Jed operates and makes a judgment call with dire consequences. Oh yeah, and there's a serial rapist/killer on campus. To say anymore would spoil the fun, or what little fun there is to be had. The cast is top-notch, and seeing Gwyneth Paltrow in an early, not-overly-flattering role is pretty entertaining. Other supporting cast members include George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Peter Gallagher (who, okay, isn't really in the same league), all of whom shine during their roles that each amount to little more than cameos. "Malice" has some great acting and memorable monologues, but those alone aren't able to save the film, which just didn't seem engaging.
Video: I haven't seen the discontinued "Malice" disc to compare/contrast, but one improvement this disc has over previous releases is a widescreen-enhanced transfer. Clarity is decent, although a couple of shots seem particularly soft. This could be the way the film was shot, I suppose. "Malice" is one of the grainier discs I've seen, with mild grain present in the majority of the film. I have a tendency to nitpick about grain in my reviews, but this is one of the few discs I've seen where the grain was genuinely distracting. The problems don't end there, though. When Tracey and another character are walking together on the beach, a massive yellow splotch appears for several seconds on the upper-right-hand portion of the screen. There was also a 'jitter' near the end before the credits rolled, almost as if someone were nudging the screen. For a film released in 1993, the image quality of "Malice" is a little disappointing, though not unwatchable. I do hope that this isn't going to be indicative of MGM's hundreds of releases for 2001.
Audio: The Dolby Digital stereo surround track, thankfully, fares much better. Jerry Goldsmith's score sounds incredible and enveloping, easily the audio highlight of "Malice". The limited amount of gunplay and fighting are similarly well-represented, and the dialogue is clear and free of hiss and distortion. Above average.
Supplements: The menu lists a "theatrical trailer", but interestingly, it's a full-frame promo apparently geared towards owners and managers of video rental stores.
Conclusion: A few years ago, I was involved in a discussion on Usenet about the massive plot holes in "Malice". It had been a while since I had seen the film, so my argument was pretty weak, and I have to admit that I got this disc solely to see if I was right or not. Knowing what to expect the second time around made the film a little more comprehensible, but the number of twists -- possibly only matched by "Wild Things" -- borders on ridiculous. "Malice" is a thriller that feels as if it's trying too hard, and I can't recommend it as anything more than a rental.
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