Malice is a 1993 crime thriller film produced and directed by Harold Becker, and written by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank, from a story by Jonas McCord. It stars Nicole Kidman and Bill Pullman as a newlywed couple whose lives are upturned after they rent part of their home to a cavalier surgeon played by Alec Baldwin.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone observed: “Goaded on by writer Aaron Sorkin, who could run a red-herring factory, the actors work to keep you guessing long after you’ve caught on. No one shows any shame about going over the top, especially Anne Bancroft in an Oscar-begging cameo as Tracy’s mother. Perhaps director Harold Becker thought flashy acting could distract us from the gaping plot holes. Becker gets so intent on confusing us, he forgets to give us characters to care about . . . It’s got suspense but no staying power.”