Clint Eastwood directs this film which is loosely based on the novel by John Berendt, which in itself is based on the real life murder trial of millionaire antiques dealer James Arthur Williams.
When a prestigious New York magazine sends reporter John Kelso (John Cusack) to the affluent and prominent confederate city of Savannah, Georgia to cover the legendary Christmas party thrown annually by antiques tycoon Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey,) the men quickly form an unusual bond. When Williams lover Billy Hanson (a young Jude Law) is found murdered after the party, Kelso decides to stay in Savannah to cover the ensuing trial on behalf of the magazine.
The native New Yorker quickly finds himself an outsider amongst the locals of the deep south, themselves a bevy of unusual characters including a grave digging voodoo mystic named Minerva, a man with horseflies constantly swarming his head, a transsexual drag queen whose stage name comes from a bottle of wine, and a man who walks a leash with no dog attached. As Kelso explains to his boss back in New York, “This place is fantastic. It’s like Gone With the Wind on Mescaline.”
Kelso begins courting a local singer, Mandy Nicholls (Alison Eastwood) while he searches for the truth to help his friend. The trial of Williams is battled out in the courtroom, with defense attorney Sonny Seiler (Jack Thompson) as the colorful southern orator going against the staunch and hard-nosed prosecutor Finley Largent (Bob Gunton). Can the wealthy homosexual get a fair trial amidst the conservative southern city, itself full of eccentricities? Is the murder of Billy as cut and dry as the self defense claim of Williams or is there more to it? Dead men tell no tales, but Kelso is reminded of the words spoken to him by Minerva when she tells him “To understand the living, you got to commune with the dead.”
“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” plays out like a strange and vivid dream (picture “The Crying Game” meets “The Shining” with an episode of ‘Matlock’ sprinkled on top) with an assortment of colorful and eye-popping characters. The cast does a decent job of portraying the locals of Savannah, with Irma P. Hall as the Cajun witch Minerva, and The Lady Chablis as the drag queen Chablis Deveau, turning out unforgettable performances. John Cusack, known more for romantic comedies, does a good job of playing the outcast Yankee and Kevin Spacey is intriguing as Jim Williams. The problem with the film is that it lacks an identity. It is a hybrid of thriller, drama, mystery, and even some humor which seems out of place against the surreal backdrop of Savannah.
– by Matt Christopher
