Absence of Malice

I caught this movie again recently, on cable, and was impressed with how well it’s held up. The topic is especially compelling in this information age if you think about how quickly the media jump to speculations, if not conclusions. I.e., we “knew” it was Arabs who bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City; we “knew” Mr. Ramsey killed Jon Benet, or was it her mother, or her brother? Paul Newman is his usual taciturn self, but that’s exactly what the role calls for. The real highlight of the movie; what you’d buy the video for, just so you could fast forward to it; is the scene with Wilford Brimley. It’s right up there with “what we got here…is failure…to communicate” and “we don’t got to show you no stinkin’ badges”. It’s a classic.