movie review
Without malice
“Absence of Malice"
Sally Fields, Paul Newman
Valley River Twin Cinema
The fatherly city editor leans over the female
reporter. “I know how to print the truth," he says,
"and I know how not to hurt people I just don't
know how to do both at the same time "
That's what Absence of Malice" is all about
Sally Fields is Megan Carter, the spunky
reporter Paul Newman is Michael Gallagher, an
innocent liquor wholesaler Carter, acting on
information leaked by the FBI, writes the truth —
that Gallagher is under investigation in the mys
terious disappearance of a local union leader
Gallagher is the one hurt, of course, and he
spends the rest of the film getting even with
everyone involved
The central idea is that a newspaper can
legally print almost anything it wants, true or not,
as long as it can prove that it did so without
malice Writer Kurt Luedtke uses this legal point
to look at the damage publicity can do to an
individual, and the individual's right to privacy
versus the public's right to know
While not a new concept ("Five-Star Final”
did the same thing in 1931), the story is well-writ
ten, although it gets a little syrupy with all the
"heartless reporter who doesn't consider her
story's consequences’’ stuff Director Sydney
Pollack (“Electric Horseman," "The Way We
Were") puts the story onto celluloid nicely, and
the result is a well-made, enjoyable film that
almost hits the bull’s eye
Newman and Fields are good Sure, Fields
looks a little sweet to be a hard-nosed reporter,
and Newman looks a little hard-nosed to be a
sweetie, but they try The best acting of the film,
however, is seen in the minor roles Bob Balaban
(one of the government good guys of "Close
Encounters ”) is impressively convincing as Elliott
Rosen, an overzealous FBI honcho who’s out to
get his man no matter how many laws he breaks in
the process Wilford Brimley is superb as the
countrified government investigator who finally
gets to the bottom of the mess, with lots of
hysterical down-to-earth witticisms and threats of
grand jury "subpenees ’’
The film does have its share of problems,
however It gets bogged down with a lot of
searching questions about “truth versus accur
acy," when what they’re really talking about is
printing truth versus printing what's right
But aside from that and a few other minor
greivances, "Absence of Malice” is a good film
While not a brilliant exposition on First Amend
ment law, it is a nice little story set in the world of
newspapers, and is worth seeing if only for Brim
ley’s performance
by matt meyer
QsLtyJ^i
Christmas Break
MOVIES
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