Rating: 
Summary: Dark at "Midnight"
Review: The echoes of Southern Gothic don't come much more gothic than "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," Clint Eastwood's flawed adaptation of the bestselling true crime book. While the movie only dips briefly into the genteel decadence of the upper-crust South, and the general air of Savannah, it does have its fun moments and good acting.John Kelso (John Cusack) has come to Georgia to cover the famous Christmas party of the wealthy James Williams (Kevin Spacey). As well as Williams, Kelso ends up befriending a bevy of eccentrics, including some happy-go-lucky partygoers and the Lady Chablis (played by... the Lady Chablis), a drag queen with a mischievous sense of humor. But things go wrong after the party. Williams' employee/boyfriend Billy Carl Hanson (Jude Law) is found dead after a fight with Williams -- and Williams seems like the most likely suspect. As a not-so-pleasant trial begins, Kelso sets out to unravel the mystery of what really went on that night, and what the truth behind Hanson's death is. The biggest flaw of "Midnight" is that it is way too short for the material it stems from -- several years and multiple trials are compressed into a matter of weeks, and many of the endearingly freaky people of Savannah are given short shrift. Only the Lady Chablis gets enough time -- the guy with the flies and poison, for example, is touched on but never dealt with. But as far as execution goes, much of "Midnight" is quite charming -- warm, sleepy and a little overgrown, much like the vision of Savannah it shows. Even a midnight voodoo session doesn't break the mood. And Eastwood manages to give us a charming view of the eccentricities of "Gone With the Wind on mescaline." (Exhibit A: The guy walking an invisible, deceased dog) Both Cusack and Spacey do an excellent job bringing their characters to life: Cusack always seems a little out of the current, a realistic outsider, while Spacey exudes grace, charm and a sort of apologetic pride. Jude Law, for the brief time we see him, does a good job as the redneck hellraiser. And who can forget the Lady Chablis? Chablis is pretty clearly having a wonderful time (playing herself, no less). The one cast flaw is Alison Eastwood, who doesn't seem to bother acting. While "Midnight of Good and Evil" fails to live up to its promise, it is a charming and funny look at the deep South. Well-acted but patchily adapted, this is an amusing movie if you don't expect it to stick too closely to the book.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked this movie...
Review: ...back when it was called "The Great Gatsby!" This movie (and book) is a thinly-veiled rip-off of The Great Gatsby.
Rating: 
Summary: A great movie to watch for a cozy winter night!
Review: I have never read the book and didn't know anything about the Jim Williams trial in the 80s. Just watched the DVD and found the movie and the acting very satisfying. Eastwood presented a very mysterious and elegant atmosphere of Savannah. Many scenes are shot in actual location, according to the map attached in "Special Features."
John Cusack gives a very convincing and heartfelt performance in this one. It's not easy as his character is the only one who doesn't have complex history behind. He is an outsider trying to understand Savannah and the people in Savannah, among them the mysterious antique dealer Jim Williams, played by Kevin Spacey. Kevin Spacey's performance in this film makes people understand what acting is really about. He offers more than what you see and what you hear. There is more, much more. I rate the movie 4-star but Spacey's acting is 5-star in this one.
Lady Chablis is good but "she" goes over the line sometimes. There're scenes you wish could be shorter. Overall it's a very good movie. I plan to watch it a few more times and can't wait to make a trip to Savannah.
Rating:
Summary: An Unmentionable Script Problem
Review: As Jim Williams, the rakish, nouveau riche antiques dealer whose homosexual proclivities include a fondness for rough trade, Kevin Spacey is smooth as lacquered satin and irresistibly sexy in a movie that has its good points, but otherwise falls flat. It's distinctly one of those "Read the book"-type movies where the lovely storytelling got lost in the translation. In the book, there was much more of a story than in the movie - the evocative descriptions lushly accented what was basically a courtroom drama. But perhaps it was too lengthy of a story to be told on film. The fact of the matter is that there really isn't that much of a story at all. While the colorful characters come alive on the page, in the movie, they camouflage a threadbare script. Perhaps it was just a poor choice for Eastwood's directorial abilities, or perhaps it was a poor choice for a screenplay - there are many flaws that nag and distract throughout. What does not distract is the art direction, which is one of the stars of the film. The interiors and exteriors, in their natural setting of Savannah, are glimmering jewels (so lovingly created in the book), and they, too, help hide the unmentionable script problem. So lovely are they that one wishes to see more of them, and might be just as happy with a travelogue where all that messy plot stuff doesn't interfere. John Cusak is an amiable enough actor, playing the role of the reporter John Kelso, who is assigned by *Town & Country* magazine to cover one of Jim Williams' legendary Christmas parties. Right off the bat, the story's famous characters start making their appearances, and they are all well-cast. In fact, the entire movie is well-cast, with a minor exception of Jude Law who is a fish out of water as the rough trade bad-boy (and Williams' erstwhile lover), Billy Hanson. Law is talented, but was not rough enough looking for the small role, and never, ever approached believability as the hard-drinking, small-time drug-dealing boho Southern "trade." The use of Savannah locals, sometimes playing themselves, is clever and entertaining. Lady Chablis, a local drag entertainer, has her moment in the sun playing herself - a screamingly funny pre-op transsexual whose relation to the actual story is very slim. She does, however, manage to get a large share of screentime, including the funniest scene in the movie when she crashes the cotillion for black debutantes. Jack Thompson makes us utterly forget his Aussie background as he brilliantly recreates the role of attorney Sonny Seiler. The cleverest casting twist was using the *real* Sonny Seiler to play the judge. Irma P. Hall, as voodoo practitioner Minerva, makes the most of her role as the manager of the spirits of the dead, even if the role is one of the most troublesome, scriptwise, in the whole movie. But an excellent cast cannot make up for a fatally flawed script, even if the movie does have a certain charm.
Rating: 
Summary: The Doll(Lady Chablis) steals the show!
Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is my favorite Clint Eastwood movie, because it's a great drama without the cowboys. I did allow this film to take me all the way south, because after seeing it, I had to go see the scenery, culture, the Bird Girl, and the Doll(Lady Chablis). Unfortunately, the Doll was out of town when I went to the now famous Club One.
The movie is based on a book written by John Berent which was based on a true story, so it was wise that Eastwood had cast The Doll to play herself, because no real actor or actress or even other Black drag queens could become The Doll. She's glamourous, sassy, fearless, dramatic, full of wit and uncompromising! There was plenty of chemistry between John Cusack(the writer) and her.
Kevin Spacey was very meticulous and convincing as a closeted gay man with much power and wealth and a thing for the not yet famous Jude Law(a rebellious boytoy again since Wilde), who was impressive with a southern accent. Spacey killed him, because he was sleeping around and doing drugs. He confessed in court that he did it in self-defense.
John Cusack arrived from out of town to investigate the story for a magazine, and the first person he connected with was The Lady Chablis also listed in the phone book as F. for Frank, and he didn't know that she was a pre-op transsexual. It was funny when The Doll got into Cusack's car after she visited the clinic, she said," Ooh, I think the shots are kicking in!" And Cusack had no idea what the bleep she was on. She dazzles and fascinates him with her story and her flirtatious moves.
Cusack meets a "witch"(Irma Hall) who had psychic power and told him about good and evil behind the murder case, and that the dead boytoy will make Spacey pay for his death, even if he was to be released for not guilty....
This was a great murder mystery, and I really enjoyed watching The Doll dancing with John Cusack and the courtroom scene as well. Too bad she didn't even get a best supporting actor or actress nomination. Her character is memorable on the same scale as Jade Davison in The Crying Game.
Rating:
Summary: SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
Review: Clint Eastwood's direction usually brings out excellent performances from his cast and this one is no exception. John Cusack as writer John Kelso; Kevin Spacey as nouveau riche Jim Williams; Jack Thompson as the cunning lawyer Sunny, and The Lady Chablis as him/herself all grasp their roles eagerly and make the most of their screen time. Ms. Chablis does at times outstay her welcome, but the drag queen chews up the role with a marvelous energetic fury. Based on a true story, MIDNIGHT is a bit long in the tooth and the leisurely pace focuses more on the characters than any suspense or real mystery. This may be what Eastwood intended, and he certainly has captured the beautiful Southern glory of Savannah. But the story goes on too long and the voodoo inclusion seems forced and ultimately unnecessary. Irma Hall is marvelous as the voodoo priestess, but the movie left me wanting more or probably even less. A good but not great picture.
Rating:
Summary: SOME TRUTH BEHIND MIDNIGHT!! !AND THE "MURDER"
Review: I FOUND THE BOOK A CANT PUT IT DOWN AND THE MOVIE WAS FAIR.JOHN AND KEVIN ARE GREAT AND (SONNY) WAS AS REAL AS SONNY IS! LOL.. AS A CHATHAM COUNTY NATIVE I REMEMBER THE MURDER WELL. BUT WHAT I FOUND OUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS MAY BE EVEN MORE OF A SHOCK TO SOME!THERE USE TO BE A SMALL "SOUL FOOD" DINER IN POOLER ABOUT THE TIME THE BOOK WAS TO BE MADE INTO THE MOVIE. LIZ THE OWNER AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT FACT WHEN SHE DROPPED A "BOMB" ON ME. SHE SAID "I HATE THAT WRITER JOHN B...WHAT EVER HIS NAME...HE MAKES OUT LIKE ITS MURDER WHEN I KNOW BETTER. I WAS THERE THAT NIGHT!" THIS I HAD TO HERE.... SHE WENT ON TO TELL ABOUT THE SECRET OFFICE OFF FROM THE PALOR THAT SHE WAS IN THAT NIGHT.SHE DID COOKING AND SOME OFFICE WORK FOR JIM FROM TIME TO TIME. SAID SHE SAW HIM SHOOT DANNY AND DANNY INDEED TRY TO KILL JIM. AS SHE RELATED IT "JIM SHOT THAT BOY AND IF IT HAD BEEN ME I WOULD'A SHOT THE S.O.B. AGAIN! HE WAS NO GOOD! I ASKED HOW THE POLICE MISSED FINDING HER THERE...HER ANSWER WAS "'THAT SORRY BUNCH??? JIM TOLD ME STAY IN THERE AND BE QUITE AND I DID NO ONE KNEW ABOUT THE ROOM SO I WAS SAFE. IT WAS PAST 5AM WHEN I FINALY WAS ABLE TO SLIP OUT. LORD WHAT A NIGHT"! ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF CHATTING ON LINE WITH ED NORTON THE ALEDGED FRIEND AND SOME TIMES "LOVER" OF DANNY'S. SEEMS IT HOLDS TRUE THAT DANNY DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN WHO HE WAS WITH, MALE OR FEMALE AS LONG AS HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED. BUT AS BAD AS HE WAS HE WAS HANDSOME BAD A--! I ASK ED THE QUESTION OF WHAT DID HE THINK EVER HAPPENED TO DANNY'S BLACK CAMARO...HE SAID DONT KNOW BUT THINK WHAT IT WOULD BE WORTH NOW A DAYS. THATS A THOUGHT! (HOPE YOU POST FOR THE FANS)
Rating:
Summary: A wayward ghost story
Review: To buy or just rent, that is always the question. We bought because the (a) movie description and setting were intriguing, (b) Clint Eastwood as director and Kevin Spacey acting were artsy enough, and (c) the price we paid was right. Turns out the movie is re-watchable and worth owning if you enjoy an artsy ghost story with a twist and get a goodish price on the DVD.
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil": The story is set in Savannah, Georgia, based on true events about this self-made, wealthy exclusive antiques collector/dealer (Spacey) who shoots and kills his young male assistant during his annual exclusive invite-only Christmas party that he finally (after years of declining Town and Country Magazine's requests to cover his party--and this is a big, big hint) agrees to let a reporter (Cusack) cover the party. The author admits to taking upwards of seven years to complete the book; so when asked to write the screenplay, he declined for reasons obvious. The real-life story involved a record four trials. There is a sweet and sultry bluesy/jazz background to the whole movie, as befits Eastwood's real-life persona. Allison Eastwood, his daughter, has a supporting role, which makes for the third in a trilogy of movies in which she and her father had a hand.
The DVD contains a neat special feature which interviews the real persons from Savannah surrounding this event, and you will soon realize that, for sure, life is more bizarre than art.
The character with the buzzing flies attached to him by super glue and string? He's real! Sonny, the likeable lawyer-friend of the accused adds smart action and is the one character who helps keep the story moving in the right direction. (In fact, the real-life lawyer Sonny plays the judge in the movie.) Minerva, the voodoo lady who helps the accused, is very believable and brings in the tingly pizzaz and mystery one expects from a Christmas-time murder mystery set in the sultry South.
The character who plays him/herself is The Lady Chablis. Director Eastwood had him/her read for the part and decided that s/he would be the only one who could play him/herself. The drawn-out treatment of this character is probably the one downfall to the movie and why I give it 3 and not 4 stars. The movie goes on for too long (155 minutes--that's 2 hours 35 minutes!), mostly because this drag queen character was getting unwarranted overblown screen time. Why Director Eastwood, or even the editors, didn't cut out the entire scene where Chablis and Cusack's characters are at an all-black debutante coming-of-age party really escapes me. It has zippo bearing on the story, is less than interesting and perplexes. Screen time would have been much better spent showing us around the grand restored antiques-filled mansion during the Christmas party.
All in all, a very good treatment of a real-life story. The Christmastime Savannah setting is very nice, the acting is wonderful, and the ending is swell because it's a bit eerie and shows us what happens, artfully so, to all the main characters. Still not quite worth 155 minutes, so thank goodness for DVDs where you can nicely jump thru (a sorta self-editing) the dullish scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Story, Great Acting.
Review: I watched MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL for the first time about five years ago. At the time, I found it to be a very strange and bizarre movie, but one that was also fascinating. It captured my imagination. After finally being able to read the book that the film is based upon, I re-watched the movie again. After having read the book, my impressions of the film didn't change much. I was a little bit disappointed that some of the best characters from the book were compressed or totally deleted, but other than that I felt that the movie stayed close to the spirit of the book.
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL examines a famous murder trial that took place in Savannah, Georgia. The movie revolves around the murder trial, but really isn't about murder at all. Instead, the trial serves as a backdrop for the character study that the film really is. The movie also illustrates a community of people living together in a city that operates more as a family rather than a socialized living environment.
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL was directed by Clint Eastwood and in my opinion, it is one of the best films he has ever directed (so much better and more interesting than the ballyhooed MYSTIC RIVER). The movie is filled with vivid passing images that give the movie it's unusual tone which provides a bizarre pulse throughout. In addition to the excellent directing is some great acting. Kevin Spacey and John Cusack are perfectly cast for their roles as are many of the supporting performers. The movie is worth watching for their performances alone.
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL is not a film that everyone will enjoy watching. It's kind of a quirky picture that makes people think. If you want a lot of action or even suspense, this probably isn't a movie you will want to watch. On the other hand, it you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary that might cause you to think, this garden might be a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous film
Review: I can't help it, but i gotta confess I keep wathcing it for Chablis- I adore her! She has a book out too called "Hiding my candy". Love you Chablis!!!
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