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.

A reversal of "All The President's Men", Sydney Pollack's "Absence of Malice" sees an overzealous prosecutor leaking information to a young reporter (Sally Field). The leak involves Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman), a liquor wholesaler whose father had a criminal past and mob affiliations. When Field publishes her story, which implicates Gallagher in the murder of a unionist, Gallagher challenges her. He believes he was unfairly slandered.Unlike "All the President's Man", which saw valiant media-men carving through lies and half truths to get at facts (thereby rightfully exposing and incriminating), "Absence of Malice" thus does the opposite. Here, journalists and prosecutors trade in lies, half-truths and skirt around laws. Meanwhile, the film's victims are innocent businessmen who are wrongly accused of bullying unions. The film's title refers to a by-law which essentially allows journalists to "do wrong" if they can sufficiently prove that they harboured no ill intentions.Like most of Pollack's films, "Malice" is overlong, simply shot and drags.7/10 – Worth one viewing.

Sally Field and Paul Newman have excellent chemistry in this film directed by Sydney Pollack. Newman definitely deserved the Oscar nomination for his role as Michael Gallagher, a Miami liquor wholesaler who is being investigated for the disappearance of a union leader. Sally Field plays Megan Carter, a news reporter who is looking into his investigation and leaks a story about his case without knowing his side of the story. Carter is a very unlikable character who only cares about getting a juicy story and does not verify the truth. They form an odd relationship as the movie goes on and the two of them give some of their best performances. Melinda Dillon also does a great job with her supporting role as Michael's longtime friend. The writing and the music were also excellent. This movie is very easy to follow unlike other legal dramas. The film really makes you think about the power of the press and how it can complicate the lives of the people who provide some of the information to the press for their articles. The film is well-balanced with subtle touches of humor in a few scenes.This film is definitely worth seeing and is an underrated Sydney Pollack film driven by spectacular leading performances and winding plot turns.

Sydney Pollack is a solid, workman-like director who doesn't like to underline key moments with ostentation, he doesn't belabor certain points--and his pictures usually move along quite freely as a result. But with "Absence of Malice", he seems to have taken a page from Alan J. Pakula's film manual--"All the President's Men", in particular--and has slowed the pacing down to a crawl. Pollack also works well with his actors, yet this time he gets nothing at all interesting from Sally Field, cast as an overeager newspaper reporter who ruins an innocent working man's life with hearsay stories about him being involved with the Mafia. Paul Newman does a bit better as the target of her slander, and Melinda Dillon is very affecting as an emotionally-frail friend of Newman's who is maligned by proxy (both were Oscar-nominated). Still, the picture is mechanical, with a quasi-romantic subplot shoehorned in which doesn't make much sense (except to soften the squabbling characters). It doesn't even have a fresh, interesting look--just the same old visual clichés--and Pollack's reluctance to cut scenes down after their drama has played out slowly wears down the audience. *1/2 from ****