In the Electric Mist (2009)

A detective in post-Katrina New Orleans has a series of surreal encounters with a troop of friendly Confederate soldiers while investigating serial killings of local prostitutes, a 1965 lynching, and corrupt local businessmen.

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers:

Jerzy Kromolowski (screenplay), Mary Olson-Kromolowski (screenplay)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Dave Robicheaux
John Goodman	...	Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Elrod Sykes
Mary Steenburgen	...	Bootsie Robicheaux
Kelly Macdonald	...	Kelly Drummond
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 Cesar Cedillo	...	Cholo Manelli
Bernard Hocke	...	Murphy Doucet
John Sayles	...	Michael Goldman
Gary Grubbs	...	Sheriff

Storyline

Lt. Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana, is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni, who is co-producer of a Civil War film. At the same time, after Elrod Sykes, the star of the film, reports finding another corpse in the Atchafalaya Swamp near the movie set, Robicheaux starts another investigation, believing the corpse to be the remains of a black man who he saw being murdered 35 years before.

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Plot Keywords:

louisiana | murder | hallucination | ghost | swamp boat | 

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Taglines:

No one can escape the sins of the past.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ithaca Pictures, Little Bear, TF1 International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 102 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Former Iberia Parish Sheriff Sid Hebert was supposed to play the Sheriff, but he was later replaced by Gary Grubbs. As a sort of consolation, numerous "Re-Elect Sid Hebert" signs were placed in the Sheriff's office, and other places in the film.

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Goofs

James Bell Hood is portrayed in a lieutenant general's uniform in the movie. By the time he had attained that rank, he had lost his right leg at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. In the movie, the character has both legs. Furthermore, Hood never served in Louisiana during the Civil War, but lived and died in New Orleans after the war.

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Quotes

Dave Robicheaux: Did you know Cherry LeBlanc, a little white girl about nineteen years old?
Old Woman: She work here, ain't she?
Dave Robicheaux: You know if she had a boyfriend Tawn?
Old Woman: If that's what you wanna call it. She in the business.
Dave Robicheaux: Mr. Prejean involved?
Old Woman: Ask him.
Dave Robicheaux: I don't think he was. Otherwise he wouldn't be tellin' me all these things.
Old Woman: She a sad girl. I told her, 'A pretty white girl like you could have anything you want'. When that girl dress up, she look just like a movie star.
Dave Robicheaux: Who was her pimp?
Old Woman: I don't know nothin' else, me. ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The film was taken away from its director, Bertrand Tavernier, in post-production, the producers preparing the edit of the film that was released in North America and the UK (running at 104 minutes). However, after the completion of the producers' cut of the film, Tavernier went back to the picture and created his own 'director's cut' of the film, running 117 minutes. This version of the film has been released widely in Europe, and is available on DVD (in an English-friendly version) in France and the Benelux countries.

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Connections

Follows Heaven's Prisoners (1996)

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Soundtracks

La Terre tremblante
Written by Dirk Powell
Composed by Marco Beltrami
Performed by Dirk Powell and Courtney Granger

User Reviews

Enjoyed it, but missing a few things

I read the book last summer and was anxious to see the film. If you did not read the book you might find things confusing. Unfortunately they did not expand on the mystical episodes that Elrod and Dave have regarding the confederate soldiers and how Elrod stays with Dave for a time and the really confusing part on how Dave was shot outside the club by the "dead" woman. In all, it followed the book and was very well acted, but it left too many important "book" parts out. Tommy Lee Jones was great and I think he made a terrific Dave, but I'm sorry they didn't show more of Peter Sarsgaard; he's such a terrific actor and in the book his character is as "insightful" regarding the confederate soldiers as Dave. If you read the book before watching the movie, you'll get it. I really enjoyed the movie.