Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Kirpianuscus The games of characters, the atmosphere of South , the brilliant performance of Kevin Specey and the fascinating work of John Cusack are pieces of a great movie about guilty, truth, desires and their high price. an innocent writer, a rich man, clues and a death as key of dark rooms of the life of community. and, always, the ambiguity between what you see and what you know. sure, the references to "Citizen Kane" iis obvious. maybe, too obvious. but , like it, it is a film about the fragility and shadows of a world more than a man. a film of large games. games of destiny or only sketches of a mind who knows the rules of life.

matatosky I love this movie intensely. It is a movie adaptation of a book of the same name. If you're a fan of sleuthy novels, you should really pick that book up sometime, as it combines the mystery genre with the charm of a comic book. The movie exaggerates or completely alters the book version. That's not necessarily bad. I first saw this movie on USA one late night and I've never regretted it. It stars John Cusack as John Kelso, a writer who takes on a reporter job for Town & Country to cover a notoriously extravagant tradition of a party that is annually hosted by Jim Williams, played by Kevin Spacey. The parties take place in Savannah, Georgia, a charming city that otherwise falls in obscurity, had it not been for its flamboyant characters and stories. Kelso attends the party as planned, meets some colorful characters along the way and seemingly prepares to depart as the job is now done. Except for the fact that the man who hosts this party, who also asked for Kelso himself to cover it; being a fan of his literary work, commits a murder during the same night of the party and Kelso finds himself not only involved in the ensuing events, but oddly drawn to the mystery behind it as well. The movie delivers some strong performances: John Cusack is always a pleasure to watch and is really an underrated actor, considering he started out as a teen in easygoing movies like 'Class' and 'Better off Dead' and has evolved into a seriously versatile actor with commanding on screen presence. I love watching the guy. Kevin Spacey never fails to disappoint in this movie, and it is probably one of his most finest roles ever, because he embraces the mythology around his real life counterpart and was praised for his uncanny resemblance to him by real party goers who met Jim Williams during his parties. You really have to be a hateful person to not appreciate the chemistry Cusack and Spacey share on screen. Actual persons related to the actual events appeared in the film; most notable Jerry Spence and Sonny Seiler who defended Jim Williams in the real trial. That alone, gives the movie an already settling atmosphere, even though some names and events have been changed for the sake of dramatization. Now, you can't hate this movie for its accuracy. Fact of the matter is, we love drama and we regard them as gems when they are done right. We love Sci-Fi movies, even though 90% of the happenings in the movie are not true. It's still a great movie, that doesn't need to follow the book because the city itself is surrounding by doubtful myths and occurrences. It strongly suggests that a lot of voodoo is practiced by certain people, including Williams himself, and the fact is, it is not so. Many people from Savannah are just as god-fearing as anyone and some even decry the rumors about it, but it adds flavor to the story, which in agreement, is very purposeful. Many characters in the movie leave you with a feeling of content because of how they were portrayed; Joe Odom and Lady Chablis being the most notable. They are supporting characters that made you wish they had more screen time or more development in their stories, hell, even a sequel but of course, that may be too much in this case. The party scenes look as lavish and ostentatious as you'd want. It really does not look as uptight as it would have you believe, for some of the characters display an outrageous and downright funny demeanor in their performances. It really has made me interested in visiting Savannah in all of its vintage glamour, but according to my own research and recent anecdotes, the atmosphere is now different. The movie was very well done and given the obvious anachronisms and factual errors, it is a charming and delightful piece of cinema that should be watched by all. It really meshed a nice touch of ambiguous comedy and grim outlook with some elegant performances and sarcastic cheerfulness. I have it on DVD and will watch it every once in awhile, just so I can soak up some of its magnetic visuals and become immersed in the story. I do that with video games sometimes too, especially if the story and gameplay is genuinely compelling. Im weird, I know. If you haven't watched this movie, do so. It is not a waste of time at all, because at the very worst, it is a interesting film that doesn't miss its mark even if you're not a fan of the genre.

Python Hyena Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Alison Eastwood, Irma P. Hall, Jude Law: Mystery consisting of too many characters than it knows what to do with and a title that sounds like someone weeding their garden at the wrong time and having a fierce battle with insects. Viewers are given two views of a murder but it is obvious when Kevin Spacey confesses to John Cusack, the writer who is novelizing the incident, we believe him. Nonsense such as the guy walking the dog leash or the moron who appears in court with live horseflies strung to himself. The Buddhist elements serve no purpose and the conclusion is confusing. Director Clint Eastwood does major injustice with its methods of humour that often distracts. He has made mysteries with investigations before but nothing this morbid. He made the excellent Absolute Power earlier in the year, which was engaging and provocative but here he could very well have directed the worst film that this otherwise talented director has ever made. Cusack asks too many questions but never demands much of a response to the idiotic traits surrounding him. Spacey's role serves more as a prop than a vessel of meaning. Alison Eastwood and Irma P. Hall also fail to enrich this junk. A terrible misfire that indicates Eastwood was just having a bad day. Score: 1 / 10

James Hitchcock As an actor Clint Eastwood tended to specialise in action movies; although there were occasional exceptions such as "Play Misty for Me", his default settings were "tough cowboy" or "tough cop", occasionally "tough soldier" or "tough spy". As a director, however, he has had a wider range, alternating action films with other genres, as in the recent musical biopic "Jersey Boys". His "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is partly a crime drama, but it is also much more than that. Jim Williams, a wealthy businessman from Savannah, Georgia is charged with murder following the death of his gay lover Billy Hanson. Williams admits shooting Hanson but claims that the killing was self-defence, an explanation which may well be true as Hanson, an alcoholic and drug abuser, had a notoriously unpredictable temper and had been heard making threats against Williams. When I saw the film recently I assumed that the story was a fictitious one and that John Berendt's book on which it is based must be a novel. In fact, the book is a work of non-fiction based upon real-life events which took place in the 1980s. Jim Williams was a real person, as is his lawyer Sonny Seiler. (Seiler appears in the movie playing not himself but the presiding judge at the trial). John Kelso, the reporter covering the case, is based on Berendt himself and Hanson on Williams's real- life lover Danny Hansford. Some changes were, however, made for dramatic purposes in the film. In reality Williams was actually tried four times when juries failed to agree, making him the only man in the history of Georgia to stand four times for the same alleged crime. (He was eventually acquitted, but died shortly afterwards). Here, however, the four trials are combined into one. The film is more than just a courtroom thriller, although the trial plays an important part. It is also a portrait of Southern society in the late twentieth century. The city of Savannah almost features as a character in its own right, genteel but faded in best Southern Gothic style, with its genteel but faded houses, dating back to the pre-Civil War era, inhabited by genteel but faded families, some of them also dating back to the pre-Civil War era. There are a number of colourful or eccentric characters, such as the black drag queen Lady Chablis (apparently another real-life individual, here playing herself), the voodoo priestess Minerva, a man who regularly takes an imaginary dog for a walk and another who goes everywhere accompanied by flies and makes regular threats to poison the city's water supply. Remarkably, this last is selected as a juror at Williams's trial without either side objecting to him, despite his obvious mental instability. It is Minerva who carries out, at Williams's behest, the bizarre voodoo ceremony which gave the book and film their title; she explains that the period before midnight is the time for good magic and the period after midnight that for evil magic. Films set in the South- "To Kill a Mockingbird" being a good example- often revolve around issues of race and social class, to which this one adds issues of sexual identity and sexual orientation. Savannah is portrayed as a deeply traditional place, dominated by its traditional leading families. Not all of these are white; Kelso is invited to a black debutantes' ball which seems to have been organised with the express purpose of demonstrating that the city has its black aristocracy as well as a white one. We learn that Williams is a nouveau-riche parvenu from a humble social background, but he is accepted by the elite because his style, elegance and gentlemanly ways mean that he has learned to behave like one of them. Although the elite traditionally disapproves of homosexuality in principle they turn a blind eye to his relationship with Hanson, partly because he keeps it discreet and partly because the bisexual Hanson- the "good time not yet had by all"- has had love affairs with several members of that elite, both men and women. Lady Chablis is also tolerated, largely because people find her amusing, but when Kelso tries to take her as his guest to the debutantes' ball she is decidedly not welcome. There are two excellent acting performances. The first comes from Kevin Spacey as Williams, whose pose as a quiet, elegant Southern gentleman may hide some murky secrets. The second comes from Jack Thompson as Sonny Seiler, a larger-than-life, ebullient character who, like his client, may be putting up a facade. Seiler's outward persona, which he uses to charm juries, is that of the simple Southern "good ol' boy", but there can be no doubt that beneath it he is hiding a razor-sharp legal brain. Hanson is played by Jude Law who in the same year (1997) also played the homosexual lover of an older man in "Wilde", where he was Lord Alfred Douglas to Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde.When the came out film critical reviews were mixed and it was not a success at the box office. Yet to my mind it should have been. It is a good example of Eastwood's directorial ability- others include "Unforgiven" and the more recent "Gran Torino"-to combine the conventions of various types of action movie- the Western, the war film or the crime thriller- with some sharp social comment, thus producing something which not only works well as a drama but also says something of greater significance. 8/10