Rating: 
Summary: OK but the book is 10x better
Review: I'd really say 2.5 stars if I could. I liked the film because I loved the book. And perhaps if I hadn't read that, I'd have liked the film more. However, having read the book well before film, I didn't like the things that were changed (especially the ending). Overall, if you haven't read the book, the film is very entertaining and totally amazing that it's based on a true story.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite enjoyable, but the book is better
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Christmas in the Deep South
Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a rare film by Clint Eastwood. It is a masterpiece that deserves all our attention. First of all it is a vision of the South, Savannah exactly, that is pure and absolute. The accent, the gentility and the manners are all there. We get totally immersed in a society that is so well behaved that it is pure pleasure. But, second, we are in a society that is small and that has plenty of secrets, and we are going to discover these secrets. The rich, the dominant are hiding so many skeletons in their cupboards that they need to buy more and more cupboards just to accomodate those skeletons. Sexual cupboards, with gay and transvestites roaming around, known or unknown, but always appreciated and regretted when one dies. And the survivors are ready to accuse the killer of one of those of being a murderer, just because they are in want, now the fruit of their thirst is dead. This is as strong, as powerful as Faulkner. But, third, the whole accusation and the whole defense are based on lies. The game in court is to find out the lie of the other side and expose it. If you do, the jury will be on your side. The prosecutor decides to reveal the sexuality of the accused, through a witness, and it backfires because the witness reveals that he has that sexuality too and hence is motivated by jealousy and want, the deceased having been one of his lovers. But then the defense attacks, and out of mere luck finds the lie of the police. This lie makes the accused innocent of murder and sustains the selfdefense case. But the accused is lying and the lie of the police has no value because the lie of the accused makes the negligence of the police unsignificant. But no one knows the lie of the accused. And yet this faulknerian situation is not finished. The blacks have their role to play and they are socially on the fringe of this top society, and yet they are the two hearts of it. The voodoo heart, that is to say the detainers of the truth that all the dead take along with them under the ground. And the genteel heart because the blacks retain the last remnants of the past, of the polite and sophisticated society of old. The whites sing the blues and the blacks dance the menuet. A whole faulknerian symbol. This film is a must in our culture to understand how time is going by and how the past remains present in our present, but through a deplacement from one section of society to another, from the old top that may still be the top to the old bottom that has attained some respectability, from the whites to the blacks.
Rating: 
Summary: Watch the movie, then read the original (true) story
Review: A good film, though not as good as John Berendt's non-fiction novel on which it's based. 'Midnight' contains very little of director Clint Eastwood's trademark style, coming across as a little rambling in some places. Kevin Spacey is, as ever, very good - his role as the affected socialite Jim Williams shows a new side to his acting. By contrast, the usually good John Cusack doesn't really get a chance to shine in his role as the hero-narrator. But the lazy, eerie atmosphere of Savannah is well constructed, and a number of the supporting actors (particularly The Lady Chablis playing himself/herself) are very good. I totally didn't recognise Jude Law as the trashy hustler victim the first time I watched this video!
Rating:
Summary: An incredible true story that made a very entertaining film
Review: Incredible and true... two words that kinda don't go well together, but that is exactly what it is. I have not read the book yet, but I have seen A&E special about the story before I watched the this feature film. I enjoyed this film more than the documentary itself. So many powerful little things are shown in this film, that no documentary can ever show. It is amazing how, on one hand, the story behind the film is all true, and, on the other hand, it is so surreal! This film makes you think about boundaries between the two: are they really there? or are they created only by our imagination? Anyway, this film is a pure delight: it is vivid, witty, glamorous, dark, mysterious, and somewhat sad, all at once. I think Kevin Spacey got the character to the smallest detail. Jude Law, even though having only two lines and about three shots in the film, is absolutely marvelous, too. And the cross-dresser/perfomer/, Lady Shablis(?), playing himself, is simply the best part of the film. I mean, the way he/she figures into the plot is just amazing. Overall, very-well done film. It sucks you right into Savannah's little world and does not let go until you are ready to book a flight and make a mad trip to good old Savannah, Georgia.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC MOVIE
Review: I am an avid movie fan and fell in love with this movie. I have watched it 21 times and still enjoy it. It is one of my favorite movies of all times. I enjoy visiting the wonderful town of Savannah even more now. It is beautifully written and narrated. Kevin Spacey is fantastic as always!
Rating:
Summary: a bit of a waste
Review: don't get me wrong,i really like this movie,but,you have to wonder where eastwood was going with this. this is very watchable with the best performance from spacey,fleshing out his character admirably while maintaining mystique.unfortunately cusacks character just doesn't do him justice being somewhat undeveloped-he's a bit flat. the love interest is very flat. jude law is wasted in a bit part with not so good dialogue. the best done part was the comedy involving lady chablis,a wannabe transsexual,most amusing. it sounds like i don't have much to recommend this film,but it kept me glued to the screen well enough and has subsequently earned its place in my vid library,aired fairly often in times of need for light entertainment. a must for spacey fans.
Rating:
Summary: Wahoo.
Review: this is one of my favorite movies. it has great acting by those who play the characters that require it. it's a very funny and strange movie. john cusack is great, but kevin spacey plays the ultimate role. it was so good i bought the screenplay so that i could perform it for competetive speech. awesome movie.
Rating:
Summary: .
Review: An interesting, but fairly unrewarding movie. I was coming at this primarily because I was very impressed with Unforgiven, the only other film directed by Eastwood that I have seen. "Midnight" was a disappointing follow-up. I have no problem with its length, but the movie seems to have nothing to say whatsoever, other than "Savannah is sure a wacky place." I got the impression at the very end of the film that we were looking at a mysterious "eye for an eye" allegory. Well, hooray, there's originality for you. I realize that there was probably meant to be more to it, but Eastwood's intentions just don't surface up from the clumsy narrative. Important moments seem contrived and silly, and I never once found myself overly concerned for any of the characters involved. Lady Whatsherface (the drag queen) was the most amusing and fleshed-out character, but she was overused and I began to wonder why so much time was being spent on her when the major characters had yet to be fully developed. The performances are nothing to write home about, either. John Cusack is bland and vaguely annoying, and Kevin Spacey does his best with a role that he simply wasn't meant for. The love interest (I can't even remember her name) was flat, and the little romance that develops there inspired vague indifference at best. The quirkier aspects of the movie were overdone -- the wacky voodoo woman was particularly bad. So, I guess I really don't have much in the way of positive things to say about this film. Unlike some reviewers, it did hold my interest all the way through, but never once did it grip me, or inspire much other than a mild curiousity as to where Eastwood was going with all of this. Unfortunately, he never seems to have to figured that out either. I don't think it's an awful movie that is an utter waste of time, but I can't in good conscience recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The book was much better
Review: This film just couldn't do the book justice. I read the book and loved it-- it depicted life in the South so vividly. In the book, the characters were complex, the story was well-written. Although the movie was good, you have to read the book to get the full effect. It's just impossible to fit all of that detail onto a movie screen. Worth watching, though.
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