Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Sick Product of a Sick System

From my favorite movies..

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

That's how Broadway veteran Dorothy Loudon describes the powerful, well respected character played by Kevin Spacey, in jail awaiting trial for killing a drunken hustler. The victim allegedly threatened to kill Spacey, and now Town and Country reporter John Cusack (who simply came to Savannah to do a story on the local architecture) struggles to find out the truth. That old fashioned southern hospitality gets him into many high society houses, intermingling with a variety of eccentrics) and a transgendered drag performer (Lady Chablis) who knew the victim "extremely well".While strange in spots and fascinating in others, this doesn't completely strike the same cord for me that "The Crying Game", yet offers some great performances in unusual characterizations. Spacey, facing scandalous charges in his current life, parallels that ironically 20 years before, and no house of cards can survive this metaphor of a messy 52 Card Pickup. Cusack us good, not outstanding, and Dorothy Loudon plays a southern version of Auntie Mame that gives her some witty lines. Less memorable is Lady Chablis who over deadpans each of her lines and seems to be spending more on shock value than creating a transgender character minus stereotypes. I would have liked to have seen more of the chanting homeless woman played by Irma P. Hall. Other characters are in introduced but quickly disappear. The conservative Southern city seems far too open minded (or possibly enjoying the scandal) to be believable. An amusing moment has Lady Chablis crashing a ball for Southern black debutantes, with the nerdy young black man completely unaware that he's dancing with a transgender, a bit daring for its day. As directed by Clint Eastwood, this crosses some new lines, but often they are too blurred even when wrapped up in a colorful package.

I think Eastwood did a good directing job, but should have left about 25% on the cutting room floor. It's a good story, with Cusack being the eyewitness to Spacey's millionaire eccentricities. Spacey is one of the most threatening figures in all of acting. Cusack's character is merely a vehicle for the story. Part of the problem for me is the supernatural stuff. The story could have stood on its own without all that voodoo stuff. Also, the character of Chablis, while entertaining at times, gets really tiresome. His/Her appearance in the courtroom is a big disappointment. This person is there for comic relief but really doesn't advance the plot, other than to show us how open minded Cusack's character is. Shorten this film by a half hour and she the superfluities, and it becomes taut and gripping. I did enjoy the defense attorney with his "aw shucks" mentality (Who's Hobbes?), but without our favorite villain, it was not great. Also, the conclusion was too much. Stop it right there.

I love this movie intensely. It is a movie adaptation of a book of the same name. If you're a fan of sleuthy novels, you should really pick that book up sometime, as it combines the mystery genre with the charm of a comic book. The movie exaggerates or completely alters the book version. That's not necessarily bad. I first saw this movie on USA one late night and I've never regretted it. It stars John Cusack as John Kelso, a writer who takes on a reporter job for Town & Country to cover a notoriously extravagant tradition of a party that is annually hosted by Jim Williams, played by Kevin Spacey. The parties take place in Savannah, Georgia, a charming city that otherwise falls in obscurity, had it not been for its flamboyant characters and stories. Kelso attends the party as planned, meets some colorful characters along the way and seemingly prepares to depart as the job is now done. Except for the fact that the man who hosts this party, who also asked for Kelso himself to cover it; being a fan of his literary work, commits a murder during the same night of the party and Kelso finds himself not only involved in the ensuing events, but oddly drawn to the mystery behind it as well. The movie delivers some strong performances: John Cusack is always a pleasure to watch and is really an underrated actor, considering he started out as a teen in easygoing movies like 'Class' and 'Better off Dead' and has evolved into a seriously versatile actor with commanding on screen presence. I love watching the guy. Kevin Spacey never fails to disappoint in this movie, and it is probably one of his most finest roles ever, because he embraces the mythology around his real life counterpart and was praised for his uncanny resemblance to him by real party goers who met Jim Williams during his parties. You really have to be a hateful person to not appreciate the chemistry Cusack and Spacey share on screen. Actual persons related to the actual events appeared in the film; most notable Jerry Spence and Sonny Seiler who defended Jim Williams in the real trial. That alone, gives the movie an already settling atmosphere, even though some names and events have been changed for the sake of dramatization. Now, you can't hate this movie for its accuracy. Fact of the matter is, we love drama and we regard them as gems when they are done right. We love Sci-Fi movies, even though 90% of the happenings in the movie are not true. It's still a great movie, that doesn't need to follow the book because the city itself is surrounding by doubtful myths and occurrences. It strongly suggests that a lot of voodoo is practiced by certain people, including Williams himself, and the fact is, it is not so. Many people from Savannah are just as god-fearing as anyone and some even decry the rumors about it, but it adds flavor to the story, which in agreement, is very purposeful. Many characters in the movie leave you with a feeling of content because of how they were portrayed; Joe Odom and Lady Chablis being the most notable. They are supporting characters that made you wish they had more screen time or more development in their stories, hell, even a sequel but of course, that may be too much in this case. The party scenes look as lavish and ostentatious as you'd want. It really does not look as uptight as it would have you believe, for some of the characters display an outrageous and downright funny demeanor in their performances. It really has made me interested in visiting Savannah in all of its vintage glamour, but according to my own research and recent anecdotes, the atmosphere is now different. The movie was very well done and given the obvious anachronisms and factual errors, it is a charming and delightful piece of cinema that should be watched by all. It really meshed a nice touch of ambiguous comedy and grim outlook with some elegant performances and sarcastic cheerfulness. I have it on DVD and will watch it every once in awhile, just so I can soak up some of its magnetic visuals and become immersed in the story. I do that with video games sometimes too, especially if the story and gameplay is genuinely compelling. Im weird, I know. If you haven't watched this movie, do so. It is not a waste of time at all, because at the very worst, it is a interesting film that doesn't miss its mark even if you're not a fan of the genre.

It started slow and got slower. After an hour I should have stopped watching it. By a bad decision was made and I kept watching it. After two hours I eventually had the good sense to stop watching because nothing interesting had happened in those two hours. If only I'd given up on it sooner I could have spent the time better, perhaps ironing a shirt or cleaning the oven. The title sounded good and the cast was a good one so I expectations might have been raised, but even if I'd just beamed down from space and not known any of the actors my opinion would be no different. It was one of the worst films I've seen in a very long time, if not the worst. Some poor films have something redeeming, but I struggle to think of one for this film.