Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

the audience applauded

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I have had friends tell me that the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is fantastic...better than the book. And, apparently, film reviewers felt the same way...that the movie was a bit of a disappointment. Well, I've never read the book and have no idea if this is the case...but I did enjoy the movie.Now before I talk about that, I must talk about the actual case. Yes, this film is based on a read murder case that was tried (four times) and ultimately resulted in....well, I don't want to spoil the suspense. John Berendt wrote the book about this famous case and instead of making it a standard non-fiction book, wrote it in a narrative fashion that seemed almost like fiction. Now this is important to me, because I can guarantee that much of what I saw in the film was, at the very least, an exaggeration...as no town, not even Savannah, is that weird and I put little credence in the doings of voodoo priest and men who walk non-existent dogs and a guy who wears live bugs on strings about his head. Surely at least SOME of what was in the film (and book) was fiction or at least exaggeration!!The story revolves around a writer, John Kelso (John Cusack). Why he was re-named Kelso and they didn't just say it was John Berendt is odd...and, odder still, that they added a female romantic interest when Berendt was gay! I don't think it's completely a case of white- washing, as several characters in the film were gay and a prominent character, Lady Chablis (played by herself), was a trans-gendered individual.Regardless of this, the story supposedly involved him getting to know the killer before, during and after the case. I assume this was fictionalized by Berendt and/or the filmmakers. Again, regardless, the film is about the ensuing trial and the MANY weirdos John Kelso encounters as he stays in town and watches the events unfold.I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I was surprised when I read that some folks found the film confusing...I thought it all made sense and worked. But the only apprehension I have is that it left me wanting to know the truth of the story...without the embellishments. Well worth seeing and NEVER dull...especially when Chablis was in the film....that is truly memorable!!!

A droning, terminally boring movie, unless you are into chiffon, transvestism and phoney Savannah accents. I would rather listen to natural American regional accents than endure 2 hours 15 minutes of badly attempted Southern drawls. Out of the cast there were only about four of them displaying reasonably authentic accents. The plot, for what it was worth was ruined by the director arrogantly making sweeping changes to the book. A blatant attempt at winning a best director Oscar, this time it was justifiably denied. Judging by the move away from this genre, Eastwood has thrown in the Chick Flick towel. A two and a half hour Chick Flick aimed at Academy Awards I can do without, thank you.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Alison Eastwood, Irma P. Hall, Jude Law: Mystery consisting of too many characters than it knows what to do with and a title that sounds like someone weeding their garden at the wrong time and having a fierce battle with insects. Viewers are given two views of a murder but it is obvious when Kevin Spacey confesses to John Cusack, the writer who is novelizing the incident, we believe him. Nonsense such as the guy walking the dog leash or the moron who appears in court with live horseflies strung to himself. The Buddhist elements serve no purpose and the conclusion is confusing. Director Clint Eastwood does major injustice with its methods of humour that often distracts. He has made mysteries with investigations before but nothing this morbid. He made the excellent Absolute Power earlier in the year, which was engaging and provocative but here he could very well have directed the worst film that this otherwise talented director has ever made. Cusack asks too many questions but never demands much of a response to the idiotic traits surrounding him. Spacey's role serves more as a prop than a vessel of meaning. Alison Eastwood and Irma P. Hall also fail to enrich this junk. A terrible misfire that indicates Eastwood was just having a bad day. Score: 1 / 10

John Kelso (John Cusack) is a writer from Town and Country magazine. He's brought to Savannah to write a feature on Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey)'s famous Christmas party. The city is filled with eccentrics. Kelso finds nouveau rich Williams fascinating. Mandy Nicholls (Alison Eastwood) brings him to Joe Odom's party. The next night, he attends Williams' party. Williams' volatile young lover Billy Hanson (Jude Law) is dead after a fight with Williams. Kelso stays to write a book about the murder trial.Director Clint Eastwood is more interested in the wild crazy characters than any murder mystery. His matter-of-fact style may not be the best for the material. This needs flair. The weird characters could give this movie great moodiness or flamboyance. Either way would be great. Instead, Eastwood is just pointing the camera at them. Some of it is interesting but the movie isn't very engaging.