Midnight in the Garden
of Good and Evil
A Warner Brothers Production
Starring: Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Jack Thompson, Lady Chablis,
Alison Eastwood, Jude Law
Category: Drama
Rating: R
Released: 1997
Available for rental.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was recommended to me, although I cannot see why. It makes Savannah seems as if the local loony-bin passed out furloughs to all its "guests" and forgot to collect them
afterward. It's got a man who walks an empty dogleash and another man with a passel of horseflies buzzing around his head. What's strange about that, you ask? Well, he's got each one on a tiny string. These are just two examples of the numerous distractions that director Clint Eastwood let pass the final cut.
Kevin Spacey, as a smart Gatsby-type character, plays antiques dealer Jim Williams. At first glance, Williams seems entirely normal - if a little tolerant of the local color. But he's just as odd as his neighbors, especially after the killing of Billy Hanson (Jude Law) and the murder trial starts. Jack Thompson plays his protective lawyer Sonny Seiler, as much of a bulldog as his pet.
John Cusack plays New York reporter John Kelso, down to cover William's annual Christmas bash. Kelso easily ditches his Town & Country article for a possible book deal, but finds himself not as objective as he would like to be. Cusack apparently has a habit of choosing roles where he's the odd man out, whether it be the weirdo in a bunch of sane people - or the other way round, as in Midnight. Alison Eastwood plays Mandy, his vague love-interest. But the show is stolen by Lady Chablis, playing herself.
This film version of the novel by John Berendt will either make you want to visit Savannah - or run screaming in the opposite direction. But if you do choose that southern town take your camera, it's bound to be...different. Rated R for adult content, themes, and language.
Thumb's Down.
Copyright 1999 by Kathe
