Alicia I love this movie so much

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

GazerRise Fantastic!

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

mark.waltz No matter how reliable the sources seem, reporting on possible crime elements involving private citizens requires more facts than just a supposed reliable source. So finds out ambitious Miami reporter Sally Field, so determined to be a part of the big boy's club that she takes on more than she's qualified to handle at this junction in her career and ends up paying the price. The victim of her scoop is an alleged crime figure (Paul Newman) who runs a waterfront liquor manufacturing corporation and is accused of being involved in the disappearance of a pivotal union boss. He claims that he was nowhere near Miami when the missing man disappeared but won't give an alibi. Field keeps digging and finds a key witness to Newman's whereabouts, but for the troubled Melinda Dillon, revealing where they were could destroy her life, and she begs Field to not reveal her name. But ambitious journalism knows no boundaries, and this leads to a horrific twist that threatens to come between Newman and Field's growing friendship and reveals some not so surprising developments in Miami's legal prosecution department.To tell the truth, you must interview many witnesses and determine which facts are key, which conflict with other information and the credibility of all sources. Field quickly spills a cup of coffee all over her desk when Newman unexpectedly pops by after her first story appears to demand to know where she got her information. This shows her greenness in the field of journalism, evident by her being kept out of a key video showing of the funeral of Newman's father where he was seen with key mob figures and got arrested for assaulting a police officer. As Field and Newman become closer and intimately involved, it becomes very apparent that something is going on in the legal world in the department of justice and that Newman is the intended fall guy for a crime that probably could never be solved. This culminates in a showdown with justice department head Wilford Brimley who must clean up all the messes yet help the department save face in the wake of a growing scandal.While the age difference between Field and Newman is very apparent, it's also to see why a young woman could fall for the still striking older Newman, fit and trim nearly 30 years into a still hot career. She's established to be ambitious but ethical, and this mistake early in her career might cost her a good job (although that is only hinted at), but it is obvious that she will learn from her mistakes and how not to be used in political wars between government and alleged crime figures. She's more of a quiet reactor to Newman's plea for justice, and coming off of her Oscar winning performance in "Norma Rae" adds another role to throw away the "Gidget" image. Her character identifies as a "Women's libber", but unlike many of today's modern feminists, she's aware that she's far from perfect and needs the mentorship of the men she works with, particularly her fair minded boss, typically nicknamed "Mac" (an amusing cliché in films about journalism.)As for Newman, he commands every scene he's in, and with "The Verdict" around the corner, proved that an aging actor with white hair could still be hot in an era where youth was taking over pretty much everywhere. His scenes with both Field and Dillon show the many layers he invests in this character, and his reaction to Field after a tragic event might raise eyebrows as an attempted rape, but something in the way the story is developed makes his actions understandable, and even Field's character seems to be aware that she has pushed him to his outburst. Dillon is as far from the lovable mother in "A Christmas Story" as she can be, closer to her role as Nick Nolte's sister in "Prince of Tides", and along with Newman, justifiably received an Oscar nomination. A superb script and excellent direction by Sydney Pollack make this a modern classic, although I feel it dates itself a bit in some aspects. Still, with those powerhouse performances and a story that is relevant even today, I find "Absence of Malice" to be quite timely and important. Every character is given layers to make them believably human, even the minor ones who have a few moments to make their participation in this film stand out. The film ends on a note of hope, although with the passing of time, it seems that journalism has not learned from past mistakes, and as long as a headline sells newspapers, stories like the one given for Newman will continue to pop up on the front page even if they don't reveal the entire truth.

classicsoncall From the vantage point of 2017 and the predominant theme of 'fake news' in the media, this movie is a perfect candidate to expose how a nothing story could blow up in a reporter's face and lead to the unintended consequence of someone committing suicide. After all, it's not so much if a story is true or not, but the seriousness of the charge that needs to be investigated. The whole thing made my blood boil when it was revealed that Teresa Perrone (Melinda Dillon) killed herself because she told the truth to reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field) and it wound up front page news. One has to wonder about the real life consequences inflicted by sleazy journalists just to get a scoop.But at least Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman) gets his measure of revenge, if not complete vindication for just going about his business day to day, having the unfortunate circumstance of being related to a former mob boss. I thought it was pretty slick the way he said "Prove it" to sleazebag Assistant D.A. Rosen (Bob Balaban) who tried to corner him on a bribery charge. Wilford Brimley was great in that scene in a limited appearance as Assistant Attorney General Wells. You knew he would go the extra mile if he had to, to get the goods on someone, anyone. Quinn (Don Hood) and Rosen both got what they deserved.What didn't work for me in the story was the romantic angle played out between Gallagher and Carter. One could argue that Gallagher was stringing her along to find out who was running the scam investigation, but he didn't have to take her to bed to do it. The idea that they could get along as a couple bothered me the rest of the picture until of course, the whole thing blew up in the law office scene. That the film makers had to tease it again at the very end was a disservice to both characters, they should have left well enough alone.One final thought as it relates to the Perrone suicide. It got me wondering what the Catholic Church's position is on performing a burial service for someone who killed themselves. Though the official position maintains that suicide is a mortal sin, thereby disqualifying a church service, there is a degree of leniency in the Catechism that states that "grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide" (CCC #2282). I had a sense that that might be the case, but I never ran across a situation like that myself. I always find it interesting when a movie sends me off to research something that came up in the story line like that. Now I know.

Ross622 Sydney Pollack's Absence of Malice is a romantic thriller with with good casting choices and great performances from Paul Newman, Sally Field, Wilford Brimley, and Bob Balaban. The thing i truly didn't get about the movie is that it was found out that Michael Gallagher (played by Newman) didn't kidnap Diaz, and Bob Balaban's character still believed that Gallagher still kidnapped him.Another thing i didn't get about the film was during the inquiry when Wilford Brimley's character asks Sally Field's character some questions Field's lawyer still objects to his questions when they are not even in a courtroom. But i still enjoyed the movie but those were the 2 huge mistakes that i found while watching it. Director Sydney Pollack can brilliantly execute a thriller movie just like he did with The Firm starring Tom Cruise. The film has great performances throughout especially from Paul Newman who is excellent here as he always is in his other movies. This a great thriller film with excellent writing to it as well.

AaronCapenBanner Sydney Pollock directed this interesting drama starring Paul Newman as Miami Liquor salesman Mike Gallagher, who is the son of a mobster, though Mike himself is unconnected. When a Union Head is murdered, and mob involvement suspected, an overambitious Federal Attorney(played by Bob Balaban) decides to pressure Mike into helping them(even knowing his innocence) by going to irresponsible reporter Megan Carter(played by Sally Field) to publish the story. Mike has a solid alibi for the murder, but won't reveal it because it would hurt his fragile friend Teresa(played by Melinda Dillon) When the story(and her involvement) is published, it leads to tragic consequences, and Mike decides to teach the reporter and FBI a lesson by beating them at their own game...Well acted and made drama makes good points about the media and personal responsibility. Almost goes wrong with misguided romance of Mike and Megan, but rights itself with memorable finale, with Wilford Brimley stealing the film in a fantastic supporting performance, laying down the law in amusing yet intelligent fashion.