Absence of Malice is a realistic movie based on a fictional event with fictional characters that goes on the idea that the truth is not always going to set you free. It sets the scene with Megan Carter (Sally Field), a newspaper reporter/writer who is bent on writing the truth until she writes the story about the disappearance of Diaz. The main suspect for this case is no other than Mike Gallagher (Paul Newman), a liquor warehouse owner who had a father who is talked about as a criminal throughout the movie. Megan Carter goes through the movie trying to find the truth about what really happens, while Mike Gallagher gives yes/no like answers to everything Carter throws at him.
The only problem I have with the movie is the "romance" aspect of it. It brings a strange forced relationship to these two people who seem to almost have nothing in common but working on the case. At this time in the movie, women are in the workforce and depend on themselves. You can tell by Carter being alone in her house. And it seems like she is fine by herself and doesn't need a man. So it doesn't make sense for her to suddenly "fall in love" with him when she barely knows him and she is really focused of her job. But they go through the whole "one-night stand" and "relationship argument." That arc of the movie really dragged it through the mud for me.
Without the romance this movie is a great film to see. I wouldn't call it a must-see but it is something to watch if you are interested in journalism and news media. The director had a history in journalism and editing and the details in parts of the movie seem like he knows a lot about it.
Review of Absence of Malice
