'Absence of Malice'
A retrospective movie review by Walter Frith
The first amendment of the U.S. constitution guarantees freedom of the press. Many feel that with freedom comes responsibility and the media is often irresponsible in many of the stories it covers. A half a million people died through butchering in only six months in the tiny African nation of Rwanda. Yet the silly O.J. Simpson story which was in the public eye at the same time got more coverage overall in the press than the Rwanda situation did. People will say that the media was just giving people what they wanted but is this entirely true? '60 Minutes' continues to be a top ten show and managed to remain in the top 10 when a large number of the 1997 World Series games bumped many popular shows out of the top 10 that week. The success of '60 Minutes' is due largely in part to its responsible and original programming of issues that don't necessarily make the front page in other mainstream media. '60 Minutes' refused to cover any of the O.J. saga. It continues to be a respected and entertaining show.
I had a friend (more of an acquaintance, actually) who believed that 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was such a great movie that it deserved an Oscar nomination for its writing. I'm not taking anything away from 'Raiders' but as great a film as it was, it was hardly a stupendously written film. It was an update of those Saturday afternoon serials people used to go to the movies and see in the 1930's. A grade 'A' film with a 'B' movie script. So, because of that, the Academy decided to go with five other original screenplays, 'Arthur', 'Atlantic City', 'Chariots of Fire'(the winner), 'Reds' and 'Absence of Malice'.
Set in Miami, the film told the story of a businessman (Paul Newman) who was implicated by a local newspaper in some illegal dealings. The reporter in charge of the story (Sally Field) is being tricked by a government bureaucrat into printing the false story about Newman. She hides behind her paper's legal department and the first amendment. Newman comes looking for her and his confrontation is also with the paper's editors and attorneys. Secretly, he plots to get even with those who have slandered him.
The story also focuses on Newman's relationship with his sister (Melinda Dillon) who lives in a convent and she is extremely repressed. Through constant meetings with Field, Newman states the moral position the media should take in reporting the truth and not speculation. One scene has the two of them on Newman's boat just a few miles off shore and Newman tells her the reason he wanted to meet like this is because he didn't want to meet in a place like a restaurant where she could easily get up and walk out. He also says at one point in the film he will tell her the truth about his business dealings if she wants to know as a "person" and not as a "reporter".
The film is directed splendidly by Sydney Pollack who captures a sense of simplicity in dealing with a complex issue and the Oscar nominated screenplay by Kurt Luedtke is filled with moral examinations and a climax set where an investigation of the paper's practices come under scrutiny. 'Absence of Malice' isn't just about media ethics, it's about observing how one man's life can be turned upside down by the press and remembering that none of us are immune from it.
Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith at: http://home.netinc.ca/~wfrith/movies.htm
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