Malice
Malice is a contemporary take on a theme that has long been a cinematic and televisual staple: an interloper intercepting the bourgeoisie. From Joseph Losey’s The Servant to, more recently, Saltburn, class alienation has always made for provocative viewing, and Malice is no exception.
In this instance, the outsider is Adam, played by Jack Whitehall. He enters the lives of the wealthy Tanners, Nat (Carice van Houten) and Jamie (David Duchovny). Dissatisfied with their nanny while lazing in the Mediterranean sun, the couple starts looking to hire new help. In comes British nanny Adam, who at first appears charming, affable and happy to engage with the family on an intellectual level. The Tanners are impressed by his tales of his supposed time at university and his seemingly erudite manner. However, Adam goes Single White Female (or male) on the Tanners, dismantling their affluent idyll.
It’s Jamie who is the main target of Adam’s invective. He destroys some of his personal belongings and seeks to start a smear campaign against him at his workplace.
There’s something rather surreal about seeing Whitehall, who for the longest time was a mainstay on panel shows as the resident posh boy, in a dramatic role. He is surprisingly menacing while balancing on the precipice of becoming a cartoon villain. Duchovny is great at portraying Jamie’s progressively distraught mental state in the face of Adam’s relentless vendetta, the root of which eventually unravels. Always reliable, Van Houten offers her undeniable screen presence, subtly conveying her gradual apprehension about her new houseguest.
The first episode has a glossy, sun-soaked veneer not too dissimilar from The White Lotus. And perhaps this is its undoing. The series certainly isn’t anything new, reiterating familiar deception-by-psychopathy tropes. Adam’s behaviour also doesn’t appear to allude to any deeper message, which is a shame since the premise is ripe for critical commentary on the excesses of the super-rich. That being said, there is something undeniably moreish about witnessing Whitehall’s villain becoming increasingly unhinged by the end of each episode, and Duchovny and van Houten are superb at playing off against him.
Malice is ideal for anyone seeking an escapist thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And, without giving too much away, watching the culmination of Adam’s malicious tirade might just be worth the wait.
Antonia Georgiou
Malice is released on Prime Video on 14th November 2025.
Watch the trailer for Malice here:
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