Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

John Berendt (book), John Lee Hancock (screenplay)

Stars:

John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Jack Thompson

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	John Kelso
Kevin Spacey	...	Jim Williams
Jack Thompson	...	Sonny Seiler
Irma P. Hall	...	Minerva
Jude Law	...	Billy Hanson
Alison Eastwood	...	Mandy Nicholls
Paul Hipp	...	Joe Odom
Lady Chablis	...	Chablis Deveau (as The Lady Chablis)
Dorothy Loudon	...	Serena Dawes
Anne Haney	...	Margaret Williams
Kim Hunter	...	Betty Harty
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Luther Driggers
Richard Herd	...	Henry Skerridge
Leon Rippy	...	Detective Boone
Bob Gunton	...	Finley Largent

Storyline

This panoramic tale of Savannah's eccentricities focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams: self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso a magazine reporter finds himself in Savannah amid the beautiful architecture and odd doings to write a feature on one of William's famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent, young and sexy lover, Billy. Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along the way he encounters the irrepressible Lady Chablis, a drag queen commedienne, Sonny Seiler, lawyer to Williams, whose famous dog UGA is the official mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, an odd man who keeps flies attached to mini leashes on his lapels and threatens daily to poison the water supply, the Married Ladies Card Club, and Minerva, a spiritualist. Between being Jim's buddy, cuddling up to a torch singer, ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | trial | murder trial | reporter | eccentric | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to Savannah, Georgia. A City Of Hot Nights And Cold Blooded Murder.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Medianoche en el jardín del bien y del mal

Filming Locations:

Churchill's - 9 West Drayton Street, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£125,235 (UK) (17 April 1998)

Gross:

£125,235 (UK) (17 April 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malpaso Productions, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Edward Norton was offered the role of John Kelso and turned it down.

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Goofs

When John drives Lady Chablis home, the rearview mirror in the car disappears and re-appears.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Minerva: Quit eye balling me, Flavius. I knew you when you was a two bit hustler on Bull Street.

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Crazy Credits

Closing disclaimer: This film is based upon John Berendt's book "MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL". Dialogue and certain events and characters contained in the film were created for the purposes of dramatization.

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Connections

Featured in The Directors: The Films of Clint Eastwood

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Soundtracks

"Jeepers Creepers"
Written by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren

User Reviews

Could have been better

It is 4 years since I first saw this movie (and commented on it before reading the book on which it is based). Having since read the book twice, I thought it time to look at the movie again. I can now see why some of those who had read the book are so dismissive of the movie.

I still think it is an interesting, well cast film - but it could have been done better - and that is a pity. There is of course no reason to expect a movie to be an exact replica of a book, but when it is such an excellent book it is a pity that Eastwood chose to alter things unnecessarily. Too much of his daughter (charming though she may be), too much Lady Chablis (fascinating ditto). These additions took up time and space where the actual story could have been fleshed out more.

In spite of these minor quibbles, I still think it is an interesting story - and to fans of the book I say - accept it for what it is - it is a fascinating film, entertaining and well worth watching.