Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Rating:
Summary: Makes me want to go to Savannah for a vacation
Review: Never saw the movie in a theatre or read the book. Saw it first on TV, and liked it so much I had to have a copy for myself.
I would have rated it 5 stars had there been more of John Berendt talking about his book, instead of him just introducing the real life people of Savannah. Which was a nice touch. It was a treat to find out that people who actually live in Savannah appear in the movie. Especially the gay hairdresser, Jerry Spence, and The Lady Chablis(more about her later.)
My favorite scene in the film involves Spence, when he is introduced to John Cusacks' character, and replies "I'm charmed now." I laugh every time I see it. He stole the scene.
And as for why I want to go to Savannah for a vacation. This city seems to be the place where the term "Southern Hospitality" was invented. At least that's the way the people are presented. And I'm assuming they were presented that way in the book.
And I have never had any desire to see a drag queen perform in person until I saw The Lady Chablis. I didn't realize he was playing himself until I had the DVD.
The 2 clubs used in the film look like places I'd like to hang out at. Or in the case of the club where The Lady Chablis performs, take in the show, her show.
So in case you haven't figured it out I really love this film. It's become one of my recent favorites. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Dramatic comedy at its best!!!
Review: John Cusac And "THE LADY CHABLIS"should have their own show!!!!Excellent!!!If you haven't seen this movie you should!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Boring !
Review: I was disappointed in viewing this movie after reading the book. The book was captivating and thrilling while the screen version was anything but that. Perhaps what they say is true the book is always better than the movie!

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable and entertaining adaptation.
Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is one of very few movies in recent years that I can honestly say that I have enjoyed--enjoyed so much in fact that I have yet to tire of it despite watching it numerous times. The movie is the adaptation of John Berendt's best selling semi-fictionalized expose of the city of Savannah and the sensational 1981 murder of Danny Hansford (Billy Hanson in the movie) by his employer/lover Jim Williams, a wealthy antique collector and historical preservationist. In adapting the story to film, changes naturally had to be made that would make the story more tolerable and understandable to the moviegoer, and anyone who has read the book will know that unfortunately, a fair bit had to be compromised as a result. This is not to say that the adaptation is "off" or that the movie is poor; the movie on its own is quite good, and one has to admit that a fair effort was made to incorporate many of the quirky elements of the original story into the plot. Still, much was left out, so much so that at times there are seens where ambiguous statements and references are made, which if one had not read the book would not quite understand why the character says or does what they say and do. So really, in order to fully appreciate the movie, one must have read the book.

The casting for the movie is excellent. Spacey is quite convincing as the central character Jim Williams, the antiques deal who guns down Billy Hanson following his annual Christmas party. Cusak also does a commendable job as John Kelso, the New York writer sent down to cover William's Christmas Party and who subsequently finds himself very much involved in uncovering the truth of what happened the night of the shooting. The performance that I enjoyed most, however, was that of Paul Hipp, who played the characted of Joe Odom, a former lawyer turned musician whose social and business exploits are unfortunately not developed to any great extent in the movie. His disappearance from the plot halfway through the movie is also somewhat disappointing. And lastly, although I was a little miffed by the love-story element added to the film version, the role of Mandy was also well played by the director's daughter.

One interesting aspect of the movie was the casting of some of the original characters in the story. Most notable is, of course, that of The Lady Chablis who plays a somewhat more restrained version of herself . Sonny Seiler, the famous owner of the University of Georgia mascot UGA, who was originally a member of Williams' defense team, plays the judge. Two others who make brief appearances are Jerry the hairdresser mentioned briefly in the book and the recently deceased Emma Kelly, the Lady of Six Thousand Songs.

The DVD version of course includes added "features" but in this case they are not all that extensive. They do, however, provide those unfamiliar with the orginal story a little bit of background on the characters and places in the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Southern belle Savannah.
Review: Adapting a book to the screen is always a risk, and adapting a successful book particularly so, especially if it is a nonfiction book and the story has already made news (or been the subject of gossip, which in this instance doesn't seem to make much difference) long before the book was ever written. There will always be those who claim that you didn't do the book justice, or that you didn't do the real events justice, or both. But let's face it, folks, the vast majority of us weren't witnesses to Jim Williams's record four trials, nor did we attend any of his famous Christmas parties, nor did or do we know Mr. Williams or any of the other inhabitants of Savannah featured so prominently here (even if Jerry Spence - not the attorney, the hairdresser appearing as himself in the movie - insists that ever since the publication of John Behrendt's book people have been asking him to sign their copy). All that most of us did was read the book ... yes, so did I, and I enjoyed it immensely. And maybe some have taken a trip to Savannah and gone on one of those "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" bus tours. (No, haven't done that myself yet. Savannah's on my list, though.)

Granted, condensing four trials into one, adding a fictional reporter (John Kelso alias John Cusack) as a stand-in for Mr. Behrendt whose book is a first-person account, and making Mandy Nichols (director Clint Eastwood's daughter Alison) the reporter's love interest, meant altering the facts as related in the book. But let's not forget that the latter covers a period of eight-plus years and is jam-packed with a shooting, four trials, a host of social events and a cast of more memorable characters than many a novel; all of which is near impossible to transform into a movie if you neither want to skip over half the important details and move the action at breakneck speed, nor turn the project into a ten-part TV series. These changes were probably necessary byproducts of the screenwriting process. But the core elements of the story have been maintained, and apart from the relationship between Mandy and John Kelso/John Behrendt, the cast of main characters strikes me as pretty faithful to the book.

Most importantly, the person at the center of the story: antiques dealer, art lover, restorer of historic mansions and sun of Savannah's genteel society, Jim Williams, is exactly the kind of man you imagine after having read the book - portrayed by Kevin Spacey with all the charm, grace and slightly condescending noblesse you would expect from a textbook Southern gentleman, with that "coastal accent ... soft and slurring, liquid of vowels, kind to consonants" as John Behrendt writes, quoting "Gone With the Wind;" making you forget that neither Mr. Williams actually came from "old money," nor Kevin Spacey grew up south of the Mason-Dixon line. And Savannah, of course, is Savannah ... city of grand old mansions surrounding its 21 squares, cotillon balls (including a black one), a Married Women's (Card) Club, lush vegetation, shady trees, Spanish moss and sultry heat radiating from the pages of John Behrendt's book as much as it does from the movie screen in director Clint Eastwood's interpretation. The movie was shot on location, including and in particular in and around Williams's Mercer House, on Monterey Square and in Bonaventure and Beaufort Cemeteries; giving it that feeling of authenticity which is virtually impossible to replicate in a studio. In addition, almost all of the Savannah residents vital to the story readily participated in screen tests; with the glamorous Lady Chablis (in all her eccentricity more lady than many a born one, Southern or otherwise) emerging in a starring role and Williams's attorney Sonny Seiler portraying the trial judge. Even bulldog Uga, the famed mascot of the University of Georgia's football team, traditionally provided by the Seiler family and as important a member of Savannah society as all its human residents and as Patrick, the long-deceased dog still symbolically being walked by its former caregiver, was not left out ... with the minor imperfection that because Uga IV, the star of the book and the real events it describes had already followed his ancestors Uga I - III to dog heaven when the movie was shot, he had to be portrayed by his son, Uga V. And more authenticity is added by the use of several songs written by Johnny Mercer, Savannah's famous son and great-grandson of the general who built the mansion restored and inhabited by Jim Williams.

Clint Eastwood's direction evokes an only marginally modernized version of the "old South" most of which could have come straight out of a book by Faulkner or Tennessee Williams; with an eye for the atmosphere and intricacies of the place and its people that comes as a surprise only to those who merely know the one-term mayor of Carmel, CA as Dirty Harry or the Man With No Name, not as the director of "The Bridges of Madison County," like this movie a book adaptation (although set in quite a different environment). And in this approach, he proves as faithful to John Behrendt's book as in the movie's depiction of Jim Williams and his fellow Savannahians: What on the surface is the chronicle of the trial of a prominent and rather colorful member of society for the death of a wayward, hot-tempered street hustler who happened to be his sometime lover (and that of most of Savannah's society, both male and female), is truly a complex, beautifully shot portrayal of the city itself and its people; like in the book, the events as such are merely a vehicle to put into pictures what Eastwood was interested in most. Yet, the movie should first and foremost be taken at face value; it is more than just another book adaptation and in its dignified beauty, easily stands on its own two feet.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Charactors...Weak Development.
Review: This movie moves too slow.
Read the book instead.

Rating:
Summary: An Intriguing Character Mix
Review: John Cusack, playing a writer assigned to do a story on a Christmas party in Savannah for Town and Country Magazine, promptly tells his boss in New York by telephone, "This place makes New York look boring."

Cusack is astonished to see a man walking an imaginary dog on a leash. Attorney Jack Thompson calmly tells him that the man is carrying out a testamentary bequest of a dog owner, even after the dog has long ago reached its resting place as well. Kevin Spacey as a self-made antiques millionaire is Mr. Super Cool. He informs Spacey that he had seen a previous article by him and is responsible for him getting the assignment. Cusack quickly learns that to "survive the final cut" for a Spacey party in his historic Mercer House mansion (the family of songwriter Johnny Mercer) is a genuine local honor.

After leaving the party and going to bed Cusack is awakened by the sound of police sirens. He is calmly told that Spacey has shot a man, after which Cusack is asked, "Care for a canape?"

Cusack learns a great deal about Spacey after he is taken into custody and put on trial for the murder of the man who was his lover, local hot bisexual sex item and drug user Jude Law. Britisher Law puts on a convincing Southern accent, as does Australian Jack Thompson, who plays Spacey's colorful defense attorney. Thompson astonishes Cusack by announcing he is going away during the weekend preceding the start of the trial. When he asks why, Thompson replies calmly, "The home football opener, the University of Georgia against Alabama. I'll be back."

The interesting mix of local characters never falters. Heading the parade for charisma and outspoken chutpah is Lady Chablis, an African American transvestite who comes across as an exceedingly sexy woman. An entertainer, she plays a major rtole in the story and Spacey's trial. Another fascinating character is the voodoo lady who attempts to drive out the evil spirit of the deceased Law in a meeting with Spacey and Cusack at the cemetery at midnight!

Director Clint Eastwood keeps the action going, and with the cast of characters one is always guessing what will come next. His lovely blonde daughter Allison, who plays a local singer, is the alluring love interest of visiting New Yorker Cusack.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant walk in the garden
Review: MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL is a great film. It has a few flaws. However, a great cast, beautiful location, and an intriguing story make up for the flaws. The film shows the grandeur of the south, and the seedy world beneath the beauty. If you enjoy mysteries, beautiful scenary, and fine acting, you should buy MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL today!

The film features a wonderful cast. Kevin Spacey superbly plays the character of Williams. He brings to the character an eccentric undertone hidden by a convincing Southern charm. John Cusack is excellent as John Kelso. The character seems to retain his northern culture while still being talented enough to be well recieved by the people of Savannah. This shows enormous talent on Cusack's part. The accents are surprisingly convincing for the most part (even for Englishman Jude Law). The cast makes the film better and more intriguing.

Savannah is a gorgeously southern city. The trees provide shade and add to the atmosphere. This wonderful city provides excellent locations and a breathtaking backdrop to the film. As the events of the film are true, the location is all the more important. By shooting in Savannah, the film is enriched and integrity is restored to the tale.

In the seventies, a horrid crime took place in Savannah. An aristrocrat named Williams stood accused of murder. The story and trial captivated Savannah and the nation. Thus, a splendid novel was written. From the novel came a briliantly done film. The film is a bit too long, but everything else about it is wonderful. MIDNIGHT is a film that shall be talked about for years.

MIDNIGHT is a great film. It has a wonderful cast including Kevin Spacey, Jude Law, and Anne Haney. The locations show beauty and ugliness as well as good and evil. The story itself is intriguing and makes for a superbly interesting film. If you enjoy a grand film, you should buy MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL.

Rating:
Summary: A weak adaptation from John Berendt's book....
Review: Clint Eastwood didn't do John Berendt's Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil any favors when he brought it to the big screen. I'm not sure I can pinpoint what it is about Eastwood's vision of the book that bothers me, but he most certainly didn't capture any of the book's Southern charm!

Though Kevin Spacey's performance is admirable and solid, even he can't carry the picture through its too-long running time of more than 2 1/2 hours. The screenplay is frequently plodding and doesn't give us the wonderful inside look at the city that is Savannah: old South, old traditions, and many interesting and diverse people who make it the unique place it is now and will continue to be. I'm from the South and spent my first 30 years there, so I know of what I'm talking about when I say Savannah is a different world unto itself, much like New Orleans or San Francisco.

The movie should've been directed perhaps by John Berendt himself who has been "adopted" by the city of Savannah as an honorary citizen. I had the chance to meet him at a booksigning in Atlanta the year the book was published, and he is quite a storyteller. No doubt his greater involvement in the film would've brought a more desirable result!

Skip the movie, or if you do watch it, THEN at least enjoy the truly original travelogue/true crime/social history that is MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, the book!

Rating:
Summary: Decent movie...read the book
Review: This movie has an excellent cast--too bad it moves at a snail's pace. Also, they tried to make it into every possible type of genre; murder mystery, drama, comedy, documentary, romance, etc. It is still worth watching, though. Just keep your expectations low, and things will work out fine.