Malice (film)

Malice is a 1993, thriller film starring Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, and Bebe Neuwirth. Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott and Gwyneth Paltrow also turn up in smaller roles. The film was directed by Harold Becker, previously known for such films as "Vision Quest" (1985) and "Sea Of Love" (1989).

Andy Safian (Pullman) and Tracy Kennsinger (Kidman) are a young married couple. He is an Associate Dean at a college, while she volunteers in the children's ward at the local hospital. They have recently settled in the suburbs of Boston. Their residence is a Victorian house needing renovations. They are considering renting the top floor. At that point a serial rapist threatens one of Andy's students. Her life is saved by Dr. Jed Hill (Baldwin), a brilliant surgeon. Andy recognizes Jed as an old friend from his high school days. They reacquaint themselves and Jed rents the top floor.

Their lives are further complicated by two events. First, young Paula Bell (Paltrow) is raped and murdered. She happens to be another of Andy's students. Making him a prime suspect eyes in the eyes of the police. Detective Dana Harris (Neuwirth) plans to keep an eye on him. Second, Tracy is hospitalized with abdominal pains, soon discovered to be the results of ovarian cysts and a new pregnancy. Jed convinces Andy that they will need to remove her ovaries for her to survive, sterilizing her for life. It turns out the necessity of the operation was questionable. Tracy sues the hospital for several million dollars and ends her marriage.

Andy has two further surprises waiting for him. First, Dana has had a sample of his semen examined. He is infertile and therefore couldn't have left Tracy pregnant. Second, his mother-in-law Mrs. Kennsinger (Bancroft) contacts him with some information. Which comes as a shock since Tracy had claimed having no living relative. Apparently Tracy has kept several secrets from him. Andy will have to find out what is actually going on.

From there the story proceeds with several twists and turns. Several layers of deception and misdirection complicate the story. As Roger Ebert put it, the film is "jampacked" with "blind alleys and red herrings". Malice has received mix reviews. The film is noted for its suspense, moody atmosphere, the "deep shadows and murky gloom" of its scenes, and solid acting. All the elements of an above average thriller. But several questions are left unanswered about the true motivations of the characters, making it seem incomplete. In any case, the film was a modest box office hit. It earned about 45,5 million dollars in the United States market, where it was the the 29th most successful film of its year.

Tropes used in Malice (film) include:

A God Am I: Jed has no superpowers. But he has a self-descrined god complex and gives a speech about it: "I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic medicine and trauma surgery, I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you; when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trama from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, Dennis, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November 17, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something:I am God."
Clear My Name: Andy is suspected of raping and murdering his female students. Which gives him motivation to locate the actual killer.
Complete Monster: Tracy comes pretty close, considering how remorseless she is about the numerous lives she must have wrecked with her schemes and her willingness to murder a 10 year old child in order to get away with her latest one
Con Man: Tracy is revealed to be a professional con artist.
Dr. Jerk: Besides his extreme arrogance, Jed tends to threaten people: "If you don't like my jokes, don't laugh. If you have a medical opinion, then please speak up and speak up loud. But if you ever again tell me or my surgical staff that we're going to lose a patient, I'm gonna take out your lungs with a fuckin' ice cream scoop. Do you understand me?"
Even Evil Has Standards: Jed, an egotistical surgeon who has no qualms about committing insurance fraud and destroying the careers of his colleagues or the marriage of his supposed friend, is horrified when Tracy suggests killing the 10-year old witness to their crimes, outraged enough to slap her when she won't relent, and threatens to be the first to testify against her should anything happen to the kid.
Fair Cop: Police detective Dana Harris is played by 35-year-old Bebe Neuwirth.
Genius Bonus: A plot point in the film involves an ornate ballerina statue. Tracy claims to have created said statue as a gift to her husband. While visiting his mother-in-law for the first time, Andy notices a duplicate statue. Further indication of Tracy's constant deceit. Mrs. Kennsinger explains that you can buy those statues in any store. Of course, if you already knew that the statue was a replica of "Little Dancer at Fourteen Years" by Edgar Degas, you wouldn't have been surprised by the twist...
Hospital Hottie: Dr. Jed Hill is played by a 35-year-old Alec Baldwin. Pretty good looking.
Hot Teacher: Tracy Kennsinger is an art teacher. She is played by 26-years-old Nicole Kidman.
Ignore the Fanservice: At one point, Tracy starts playing footsie with Andy under the table, telling him in a breathy voice how she misses him and still wants him, to which he coldly replies: "I think you dropped your shoe."
Memetic Mutation: Most people know this Film based solely on Jed's "God complex" monologue
Plot Hole: So with all the planning Tracy and Jed did--her injections, his getting the position of chief surgeon etc., how could they be certain that her ovary would rupture a night when he was on-call AND had been drinking? Did he work every single night? Was he drunk every night? Too many things came together too perfectly for their plan to be successful.
- This might be a subversion of this trope, as ultimately, their plan wasn't successful. But it's still too convenient that Andy discovering that he was sterile led to everything unraveling.
Red Herring: Several contained in the film. One of the major ones is the subplot with the serial rapist/murderer. The film arguably invites the viewers to seek the identity of the killer and how do the murders fit with the machinations of the characters. They don't. The killer is college handyman Earl Leemus. A minor character who plays no part in the money-making schemes of the main characters.
- The rape storyline ties in somewhat--when Andy's semen is tested in order to rule him out as a suspect, he learns he's sterile and couldn't have been the father of the baby Tracy was carrying. While he has yet to realize the extent of Tracy's depravity, the realization that she was cheating on him instantly shatters any illusions he has about her.
Retroactive Recognition: Gywneth Paltrow as one of Andy's students, and later, victim of the campus serial rapist.
Took a Level In Badass: Andy goes from a mild mannered teacher to a man who pulls off gambits that would make David Xanatos proud.
Would Hurt a Child: Tracy gets pregnant for the sole purpose of looking more sympathetic during the lawsuit, and later plans to murder the child who supposedly witnessed her and Jed's shady dealings