Absence of Malice
| Absence of Malice | |
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Absence of Malice promotional movie poster
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| Directed by | Sydney Pollack |
| Produced by | Sydney Pollack Ronald L. Schwary |
| Written by |
Kurt Luedtke David Rayfiel (uncredited) |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Dave Grusin |
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
| Edited by | Sheldon Kahn |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $40,716,963 |
Absence of Malice is a 1981 American drama film starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, and Bob Balaban, directed by Sydney Pollack.
The title refers to the legal definition of one of the requirements of proof against libel defamation, and is used in journalism classes to illustrate the conflict between disclosing damaging personal information and the public's right to know.
Miami liquor wholesaler Michael Gallagher (Newman), who is the son of a deceased criminal, awakes one day to find himself a front-page story in the local newspaper, indicating that he is being investigated in the disappearance and presumed murder of a local longshoremen's union official, Joey Diaz.
The story was written by Miami Standard newspaper reporter Megan Carter (Field), who reads it from a file, left intentionally on the desktop of federal prosecutor Elliot Rosen (Balaban). As it turns out, Rosen is doing a bogus investigation and has leaked it with the purpose of squeezing Gallagher for information.
Gallagher comes to the newspaper's office trying to discover the basis for the story, but Carter does not reveal her source.
Gallagher's business is shut down by union officials who are now suspicious of him since he has been implicated in Diaz's murder. Local crime boss Malderone, Gallagher's uncle, has him followed, just in case he talks to the government.
Teresa Peron (Melinda Dillon), a lifelong friend of Gallagher, tells the reporter that Gallagher couldn't have killed Diaz because he was taking her out of town for an abortion on that weekend. A devout Catholic, she doesn't want Carter to reveal this publicly, but Carter prints the story anyway. When the paper comes out the next morning, Peron is so ashamed that she steals newspapers from the yards of her neighbors. Later, offscreen, she commits suicide.
The paper's editor McAdam tells Carter that Peron has committed suicide. Carter goes to Gallagher to apologize, but an enraged Gallagher assaults her. Nevertheless, she attempts to make it up to him by revealing Rosen's role in the investigation.
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Wikipedia