Absence of Malice | | Cast : | Paul Newman, Sally Field | | Director : | Sydney Pollack | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | December 18, 1981 | | DVD Released Date : | April 14, 1998 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 12, 2005 | | Summary | Wilford Brimley Steals the Show | Content
 | This is a good movie with an interesting plot, good acting, decent directing and a politically relevent comment on the excesses of the US Press. Paul Newman gives his standard delivery that garnered him another deserving Best Actor nomination. However, what I come away with each time I see this movie is the short but powerful preformance of Wilford Brimley as the federal Justice Department official who comes in to untangle the confusing trap that Newman set. While the other characters have been playing a game of chess up til now, Brimley has no time for ruses or finess. He bullies, cajoles, and forces his way to the truth in a role that makes everyone else look small in comparison. His dispensing of penalties, options and opinions in the wake of the "tag; you're it" game that everyone else was playing is masterful. It's almost too bad the film didn't end there because the rest is unimpressive in comparison.
What is hard to comprehend is that Wilford Brimley not only didn't get the Best Supporting Actor Oscar; he wasn't even nominated! Oh well, awards don't always go to the most deserving. If you haven't seen "Absence of Malace", watch it the next chance you get. Much of it will impress you and one scene in particular will stay with you long after the others are forgotten. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 12, 2005 | | Summary | The fourth estate running amuck | Content
| A newspaper reporter (Sally Field) does a story on what appears to be a federal strike force investigation of a man (Paul Newman) who once had ties with the Mafia. Only it's not true, and after the published story has dire affects on Newman's life, he seeks revenge. The theme is about the responsibility the press has to not just print anything it wants and use words like "alleged" and "sources said" to protect itself. Newman does an excellent job, as usual, though Field is not strong enough as an actress to do her part very well. The very end (after Newman has made monkeys out of Field and others on the paper) is a bummer, too, with Newman picking up stakes and moving on, as if this little episode was all he had to do in Miami, the movie's setting: hero riding off into the sunset syndrome here. The movie presents a good, complex story, though - well paced and, except for Field, well acted by all involved. Definitely worth a watch. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 25, 2005 | | Summary | Absence of Love Interest | Content
| The movie is an OK exercise in First Amendment privileges and the power of the press to ruin innocent people's lives, but basically it turns a yawn-making subject into a Florida travelogue that rivals MIAMI VICE and De Palma's SCARFACE for imaginative use of Florida locations.
Sally Field and Paul Newman make an uneasy match together. The truth is that, at 55, he is a wee bit too old for her and might well have played her father. She isn't looking good either, but I give her credit for taking a part which isn't entirely sympathetic, for she could have traded on her lovability factor ("You like me!") for years without wandering into the heavy waters of something like ABSENCE OF MALICE. Paul Newman has a role made for him, down to the twist "Sting" ending which will remind you of a dozen other movies he made over the years (and continues to make, God bless him). --Such as THE VERDICT or BUTCH CASSIDY.
With his frosty blue eyes I can see him playing an Irishman, though it's a stretch. This is right around the period where his screen persona began to go over the top, from leading man to full-on legend, and he hasn't really aged since. Eighty this year, Newman remains one of our favorite leading men, but ABSENCE OF MALICE doesn't really do anything for him one way or the other. Melinda Dillon, whose career really should have been a big one, shows a lot of restrained power here, but nothing that suggests that she and Sally Field should have switched roles as was whispered back during the original release of this movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 03, 2005 | | Summary | A great film that only gets better with age | Content
| Absence of Malice is one of my all-time favorites, and the first "older" movie that I grabbed when it was finally released on DVD. In my opinion this is one film that should be required viewing for every journalism major in the USA.
Hollywood movies very rarely criticize the press (except those deemed too far to the right politically), so this film was in an exclusive category from the beginning. The powerful story and the restrained, polished performances from its excellent cast carry as big of a punch now as they did a quarter-century ago when the film was first released. Paul Newman seems tailor-made for his role as the adult son of a famous mob figure, and Sally Fields is her typical annoying self as the headline-seeking thirtyish reporter who is fed an untrue story about Newman's character by a conniving federal investigator (Bob Balaban, who's very effective in the bad-guy role) and runs with it, setting off a chain of events that eventually wrecks several people's lives, including her own.
The supporting cast is uniformly excellent: Melinda Dillon in a rare dramatic role as Newman's sweet, mentally slow sister who unwittingly reveals her darkest secret to the world by talking to Fields; Balaban's obsessive intensity makes you think he's actually in more scenes than he is; and Wilford Brimley as Balaban's boss almost steals the show when he rides into town to clean up the mess. It is Brimley's scenes as the Asst. U.S. Attorney (with that nice country drawl) that brings the movie's tension to its ultimate climax, and justice is finally done, although it's too little, too late for most of the characters.
I think this film was misunderstood by many who saw it back in 1981 because the majority of the public at that time still held the mainstream media and its minions in high regard. The scene where Brimley responds to the newspaper's lawyer, who invokes the First Amendment when Fields is pressed about her sources, shocked many viewers at that time and probably still does even today: "The First Amdendment doesn't say that, counselor...the privilege [protecting a source] doesn't exist." This concept was at the very heart of movies like All the President's Men (Who was "Deep Throat"?), and Brimley shoots it down in 5 seconds.
The ultimate point of the movie, that publicity can destroy innocent people's lives, was not as well understood in the early 80's as it is today. Field's proud reporter and her equally-arrogant editor weren't evil, just selfish and sloppy. Nor is Field's character stupid; she just never stopped to think that Balaban's unscrupulous investigator was using her for his own ends because she was focused on making her deadline. (There's subtle hints of ageism when her boss tells her "You'd make a fine editor" and Fields snaps back "I'm not over the hill yet!" while glancing at the twentyish blond reporter nearby, knowing that this woman is her replacement.)
This film is rich in subtleties and textures that can only be enjoyed after repeated viewings. The fact that Newman's quiet "everyman" hero finally sets up everyone else for their inevitable fall, then gets to watch the implosion first-hand, is merely icing on a very rich and tasty cake. I urge anyone who's never seen this film to buy it today! You won't be sorry.
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| Rating | | | Date | November 23, 2004 | | Summary | The Sly Fox Gets Revenge | Content
| If you enjoy watching films in which arrogant people get their comeuppance, you might enjoy this one.
Paul Newman deftly shows how an astute, calculating "avenger" can turn the tables on those who have hurt his business and a dear friend. Sally Fields gives a credible performance as a self-absorbed, "champion of truth" journalist who's oblivious to the impact of her stories on people's lives and livelihood. Wilford Brimley is at his best when he "reads the riot act" to each one of the "culprits" in the climactic confrontation scene, and, in doing so, ties together the loose ends of the film's storyline.
While the movie lacks the action (and pace) of many popular films today, it rewards the thoughtful, patient viewer who appreciates watching a carefully executed revenge. It's one of my all-time favorites. I've seen this film about a half dozen times over a period of years and still enjoy it as much today as I did when I first saw it on the big screen. |
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