Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers (WGA):

John Berendt (book)
John Lee Hancock (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Welcome to Savannah, Georgia. A City Of Hot Nights And Cold Blooded Murder.

Plot:

A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Trial | Reporter | Murder Trial | Christmas

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Cusack	...	John Kelso
Kevin Spacey	...	Jim Williams
Jack Thompson	...	Sonny Seiler
Irma P. Hall	...	Minerva
Jude Law	...	Billy Hanson
Alison Eastwood	...	Mandy Nicholls
Paul Hipp	...	Joe Odom
Lady Chablis	...	Chablis Deveau (as The Lady Chablis)
Dorothy Loudon	...	Serena Dawes
Anne Haney	...	Margaret Williams
Kim Hunter	...	Betty Harty
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Luther Driggers
Richard Herd	...	Henry Skerridge
Leon Rippy	...	Detective Boone
Bob Gunton	...	Finley Largent

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief violence.

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (TV rating) | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Mexico:C | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Churchill's - 9 West Drayton Street, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Company:

Malpaso Productions

Trivia:

Dorothy Loudon's final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John drives Lady Chablis home, the rearview mirror in the car disappears and re-appears.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Minerva: Quit eye balling me, Flavius. I knew you when you was a two bit hustler on Bull Street.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Damn Good Dog (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

That Old Black Magic

A slow, unrecognizable adaption of a wonderful book

Like many other fans of the novel, I decided to see 'Midnight' despite the unflattering reviews. After all, I reasoned, Kevin Spacey is a wonderful actor, and even a bad adaption of a wonderful novel might be tolerable. HOW BAD COULD IT BE??

I was wrong.

Regardless of whether you're a fan of the book or a 'newcomer', this movie is sure to disappoint. The novel, which consists of a number of hilarious character sketches followed by a short mystery, has been mangled into a remarkably mundane mystery plot. The screenwriter also threw in a romantic subplot, presumably because the filmgoing public demands it (or perhaps because the director's daughter needed a role?). Finally, Savannah's grace, charm, and quirkiness--conveyed so well in the book--has completely eluded the moviemakers.

Oh, and the movie is 2 hours too long.

The only saving grace of this movie is watching the charismatic Lady Chablis, played by herself. Still, it's much more fun to read about her, so save yourself the misery and grab the book.