Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil

By:
In-House Review - Aug 11 2004

With his most ambitious film to date, though not necessarily his most accomplished, director Eastwood takes a walk on the wild side -- Southern style -- in bringing John Berendt's best-seller to the screen. Eastwood wouldn't exactly be at the top of the list to helm a Southern Gothic mystery-comedy, but its theme of murder and of its moral ambiguity have found their way in many of his best and most recent films (Unforgiven, A Perfect World, etc.). Based on a true story, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil casts Cusack as John Kelso, a New York writer assigned to cover an exclusive society party in Savannah. Agendas change, however, when Jim Williams (Spacey), the party's host, is arrested that night for shooting his hustler boyfriend (Law). Was it self-defense or premeditated? Eastwood is able to convey the rhythms of Southern culture and attitudes with a leisurely tempo, though at 154 minutes the film is entirely too long. And only certain aspects of the book are covered. Some are changed altogether. One startling addition is a romantic interest for Kelso, which only belies the book's and the beginning of the film's sexual tension between Kelso and Williams. But these flaws notwithstanding, Midnight..... is also an often fascinating and surprisingly funny tale, as mannered and charismatic as Williams himself. As played by Spacey, Williams is an unforgettable character; Spacey is brilliant in registering the humor, propriety, unconvention and sinister charm of this man. It's a riveting portrayal. Also of note are Thompson as Williams' dedicated and bulldog attorney; Hall as a spiritualist who may know more than she lets on; and stealing every scene she's in is The Lady Chablis, a transvestite playing herself who has undoubtedly learned through years of performing just how to snare the spotlight.