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

It is repeated several times in the movie that Lady Chablis' birth name was "Frank." However, although she plays herself in the movie, her real birth name was Benjamin Edward Knox, not Frank.

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Goofs

(at around 2h 09 mins) In the courtroom the lawyer, Sonny, refers to his client as "Tim" not Jim.

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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

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Tangerine"
Written by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger

User Reviews

Midnight through the gilded glass slowly

`Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' hands one a magnifying glass, a mirror, and a chair by a sun soaked window while we read a published diary. After finishing the second trip into that Savannah party I realized why John Berendt's story brought me back. John Kelso knew more about those amenities that surrounded him in the form of Faberge eggs, polite party kisses and mysterious covered up landscapes. Some have said that the film length was a negative not to be overcome. On the contrary it seemed almost a necessity… like those long lazy warmth soaked southern nights listening to the slowness of Spanish moss the two and a half hours seemed relaxing and intriguing. Some things take time to soak in, like a stab in slow motion, the deception of Jim Williams set fades in and out in pools of gossiping chatter and thirstless drinkers. With a cast of smooth talking, cigarette toting originals, from ravenously stunning Chablis to ex-barrister piano banging Joe to prophetic Minerva there are eccentricities for anyone to appreciate and adore. I have chosen to do so and will again I am sure.