Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Review
by E. Benjamin Kelsey (LooseSkrue AT aol DOT com)December 9th, 1997
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
(R)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Running Time: 155 minutes
Originally Released: November 21, 1997
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * * (out of four)
Although the movie previews were the first time I'd heard of MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, it seems important to mention that it is derived from John Berendt's best-selling, non-fiction book. Although rumors have led me to believe it is a loose adaption of the book, this is still the source behind the film.
In the movie, John Kelso (John Cusack) is a New York writer sent to the lavishly quaint town of Savannah, Georgia to cover a locally famous annual Christmas party for "Town & Country" magazine. The party is being thrown by the extremely rich, genteel Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey), an antiques dealer whose mansion consumes an entire block. It doesn't take long before John is exposed to the many eccentric characters of the seemingly peaceful town, including a man who walks a dead dog and another man who keeps house flies attached to him at all times.
When John arrives at the party, Jim befriends him right away. On a tour of Jim's luxurious estate, we are introduced to another key character: Billy Hanson (GATTACA's Jude Law), a profane, often drunk, blue-collar employee of Jim's . . . and also his lover! When Billy is found shot to death in Jim's house the next morning, a murder mystery unravels and John quickly decides to stay in Savannah with hopes of turning this into a definite best-seller.
Luckily the film doesn't fall into a John Grisham-like legal suspense thriller, which is a good thing since it could have so easily done so. MIDNIGHT stays fresh, original, and surprisingly upbeat. This is due in large part to the spectacular debut of the Lady Chablis, a black transvestite who plays herself (himself?). Chablis is never off the mark, seemingly one up on the script. Not only does she provide the biggest and best laughs, but she by far provides some of the best acting of the year. She *should* get an Oscar nomination, as long as they can figure out which category to put her in - Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress?
The always charming John Cusack proves once again why he is so impervious to failure. No matter what role we see Cusack in, he becomes the character with ease, and this is no exception. Kevin Spacey, who is already developing quite a following, is terrific as the Southern-gent turned murderer. But was it cold-blood or merely self defense? Go see this movie and find out! It's well worth it!
Clint Eastwood does quite a nice job directing this film. Visually enriching and eloquent, MIDNIGHT possesses such a realistic (if not surreal) feel, that you'll expect to find a cold glass of lemonade waiting for you outside of the theater. The very end of the film, which I won't give away, is of special note. I will say, however, that it was marvelously done and very intriguing in it's almost afterthought-like way.
The most notable problems with MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL are a few lacking characters, particularly John's supposed love interest Mandy Nichols, played by Clint's daughter Alison Eastwood. Such a seemingly important figure should have received a great deal more development and screen time, but sadly she is wasted and becomes a feeble attribute to the film. You'd think in a two and a half hour film that they could have paid more attention to her. Aside from that, MIDNIGHT is really a well-done film that will probably not receive as much praise and commercial success as it deserves. I urge you to see for yourself.
December 6, 1997
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