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Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil | Year: 1997 Classification: Drama Directed: - Clint Eastwood Actors/Actresses: - John Cusack - Kevin Spacey - Jack THompson - Irma P.Hall - Jude Law Wonderfully Eccentric What a pleasant surprise to discover that much of what was portrayed in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is essentially true. Sure Clint Eastwood as any director knows all too well, simply had to take some creative license if this fascinating and true story was to translate well to the silver screen. He did good. To Mr. Eastwood's credit, not a few of the many characters seen on screen were the real deal as the murder trial of noveau riche antique dealer Jim Williams unfolded. Kevin Spacey as Williams nailed this one, right down to the piercing dark eyes as noted in the best selling book of the same name by John Berendt. As good as Spacey's performance was, this intrigung story moves along on the strength of an unusual and fact based cast of characters, a few of the minor ones in William's circle actually play themselves including a cameo by William's real life sister. Part of the fun of watching this movie is sorting out the real characters from the actors. John Cusack's character as a writer for an upscale magazine was an understandable, even essential fabrication if story continuity was to be realized. How many people noticed Cusack's sister Ann in a brief walk-on appearance? But I digress. One character that stands out, and I mean really stands out is one Lady Chablis. If you watch this movie for no other reason, watch it to witness this highly unusual and sometimes hilarious real life personality who as a local entertainer still resides in the Savannah, Georgia area. There had to be little doubt in director Clint Eastwood's mind that Lady Chablis could only be played by the real Lady Chablis. Eastwood's beautiful daughter Allison played a supporting role as love interest to Cusack's writer and this device worked fairly well. Review the informative and interactive DVD and judge for yourself if Eastwood kept to the spirit of the story. I think he did. Of course the book is more accurate, it has all the time it needs to, but all told Eastood did a very good job from the director's chair and should be proud of this work. Midnight in the Garden of Less isnt More This movie is basically a great travelogue for fans of The Book.<BR>It lacks the quirky whimsicality that Berendt so wonderfully wrote about. Cusack is woefully miscast as the New York writer sent to Savannah to write a party review. Fans of Kevin Spacey should love his dead on performance. His Jim Williams is perfect. Jude Law makes a breif but memeorable turn as bad boy/murder victim Billy Hansen. And of course, the Lady Chablis steals every scene she is in. If you love the book, you should see this film, mainly because practically every scene is shot exactly where it happened in reality. Savannah is a beautiful town and it holds up the best in Easstwood's rather boring adaptation. Because much of the book's subplots were left out, this would have made a great mini-series. Quite enjoyable, but the book is better Although I thought Berendt's book was a far more impressive work, this film seems to capture well the charm and quirkiness of a Southern city without making us look like a bunch of gun-and-liquor-crazed rednecks. It makes us look like a bunch of gun-and-liquor crazed charming urban socialites, but still, it's a departure from the expected. The film IS too long, and they probably use The Lady Chablis a bit too much, a choice the director probably found irresistible beacuse s/he steals every scene s/he is in. My favorite character, the "cheerfully amoral" Joe Odom, (played magnificently by Paul Hipp) wasn't used enough, although he DOES get the movie's best one liner--when a sleepy Kelso (John Cusack) askes why all the police cars are in the street--"Jim Williams' done gone and shot somebody--canape'?" Every southern town has a least one Joe Odom. And Kevin Spacey's performance is of course perfect in every possible way, in a role that was quite a challenge. Jude Law as the victim/boy hustler Billy doesn't get much of a chance to make an impression, and if one had only seen the film one might wonder what James and everyone else saw in this bad boy. Disappointing, because one assumes Eastwood would know all about how to make a character appear both sexy AND dangerous. Law's Billy is more of a stock criminal than anything else. And Eastwood apparently cast his daughter as Mandy--well, she's not THAT bad.... At any rate, this is still a film well worth owning for sheer entertainment value and its Fellini-esque parade of odd characters. It also might encourage people to read the book, and THAT would indeed be a great entertainment value. Buy Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil Search with the Priority Search Engine on Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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