In the Electric Mist (2009)

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers (WGA):

Jerzy Kromolowski (screenplay) &
Mary Olson-Kromolowski (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 April 2009 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers.

Plot Keywords:

Corpse | Drunk Driving | Mobster | Deep South | Movie Star

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Dave Robicheaux
John Goodman	...	Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Elrod Sykes
Kelly Macdonald	...	Kelly Drummond
Mary Steenburgen	...	Bootsie Robicheaux
Justina Machado	...	Rosie Gomez
Ned Beatty	...	Twinky LeMoyne
James Gammon	...	Ben Hebert
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Lou Girard
Levon Helm	...	General John Bell Hood
Buddy Guy	...	Sam 'Hogman' Patin
Julio Cedillo	...	Cholo Manelli
Alana Locke	...	Alafair Robicheaux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Randy Austin	...	St. Clare Parish Deputy
Sandra Leigh Babineaux	...	Newspaper Clerk
Samantha Beaulieu	...	Amber (voice)
Cindy Blanchard	...	Parole Officer
Walter Breaux	...	Batist
Steve Broussard	...	Mr. Trajan
Zach Broussard	...	Captain
Herman Brown	...	Band Member 3 / Drums
Andrea Frankle	...	Margot
Adella Gauthier	...	Old Woman
Danny Grisaffe	...	Uniformed Patrolman
Gary Grubbs	...	Sheriff
Greg Guirard	...	Old Cajun Fisherman
Rio Hackford	...	Thug 2
Louis Herthum	...	Doobie Patout
Bernard Hocke	...	Murphy Doucet
Richard Jones	...	Sollie Rothberg
Richard Landry	...	Photographer
Robert Leblanc	...	Himself - Band Member 4 / Bass
Damon Lipari	...	Stuntman
Tony Molina Jr.	...	Adonis Brown
Ritchie Montgomery	...	Bartender
Matt Naquin	...	Waiter
Chukwuma Onwuchekwa	...	Dewitt prejean
Ryan Rilette	...	Jimmie
John Sayles	...	Michael Goldman
Katie Tull	...	Assistant
Dennis Paul Williams	...	Himself - Band Member 2 / Guitar
Mark A. Williams	...	Band Member 5 / Rubboard
Nathan Williams	...	Band Member 1 / Accordion
John Wilmot	...	Mr. Meaux

Also Known As:

Dans la brume électrique (France)
In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

Germany:117 min (Berlin International Film Festival) | USA:102 min (DVD)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Albania Plantation - 1842 LA 182 E., Jeanerette, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Ithaca Pictures

Trivia:

Co-stars Ned Beatty and John Goodman previously appeared together on "Roseanne" (1988). Beatty had a recurring role as Goodman's father on the show.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the coroner is showing Dave the facial wounds on the dead Amber Martinez, the actress' left eye twitches.

Quotes:

[first Lines]
Dave Robicheaux: My name's Dave Robicheaux. I'm an alcoholic. Sometimes I'm tempted to have a drink. But I never do.

Movie Connections:

Follows Heaven's Prisoners (1996)

Soundtrack:

La Terre tremblante

Better than it's being rated

First, there's the great French director, Tavernier, who made many films Americans missed. But at least most remember "'Round Midnight,'" an amazingly done jazz film with the late Dexter Gordon. Then there are the great actors, from Tommy Lee (who did indeed "nail" Robicheaux), but also Ned Beatty, Mary Steenburgen (who made the ordinary character of Bootsie bearable), the other great director John Sayles (as a director,of course) and countless lesser known character actors. The production values are superb. I've read most of Burke's novels and the sets of Dave's house, the dives he visits, the bayou, all of it are exactly as I'd imagined. The writing is good and I don't get why people think the story is confusing. But there is one major flaw (for me) that rankles. Why cast musicians (Levon Helm, Buddy Guy) in roles that really need strong acting? Helm was a great drummer for The Band, but I've never seen him act with much conviction. And the character of the dead Confederate general requires strength. Hal Holbrook would have been perfect. Then there's Buddy Guy, a great Chicago blues man, but he's no actor. He seemed almost to be reading most of his lines from off camera in one scene.

You cannot put strong actors in the same scenes with weak ones. But good actors together can make a scene--witness the last confrontation between Tommy Lee's Robicheaux and Ned Beatty's Lemoyne.

So, solid direction, much strong acting, faithful to the book, great sets and setting, all brought lower by some bad casting. Still, I think this one deserves more respect, especially compared to many of this year's "Oscar worthy" films.