Absence of Malice (1981)

If you can get past the fashions and haircuts, this is a very smart movie. This is the story of a story. If you are student of journalistic ethics you will find this movie interesting. If you every wonder about the path a story in the news takes with it's twists and turns, this is an impressive peek behind the scenes.

Of course this is back in the day when newspapers were the forefront of investigative journalism so you'll have to imagine what that was like. Imagine also a story where doing the right things is conflicted with doing things right. This is a theme and a lesson that never gets old. Maybe it means now more than in 1981?

Paul Newman was subdued but brilliant as the son of dead gangster trying to outwit the FBI and a federal Justice Dept. task force, and a very nearly great newspaper reporter played by Sally Field. Other faces you will surely recognize are Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, and a very special cameo by Wilford Brimley.

This is a drama of a fairly high order. Pay attention to the details. Understand what is, and is not, happening. Enjoy the ride.

Watch this with someone who want to be a journalist, or a bureaucrat, when they grow up.