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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The U.S. Army installation Ft. Hood, Texas, is named after General John Bell Hood (Levon Helm's character), the site of the 2009 massacre.

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Goofs

When a caller hangs up on Dave's cell phone, you hear a dial tone. Cell phones do not have dial tones.

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Quotes

Sam 'Hogman' Patin: A Blue Jay don't sit on a Mocking Bird's nest. The Mocking Bird will whoop the Blue Jay's ass every time.

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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

Aweome Adaptation

Why this movie went straight to DVD is beyond me. The mood is pure southern Gothic, the acting is terrific, and the story is complicated and sad.

The performances were dead on. TLJ hits Dave Robicheaux on the button. But the best is Mary Steenburgen as Bootsie. She really nails this part.

The story is about a Cajun cop who is haunted by his own demons, and by the demons he faces in his work as an Iberia Parish Deputy. The characters he meets in trying to solve the murders are so true to life that you wonder if the people playing the parts were really actors. John Goodman is great, as usual, as is Ned Beatty.

While a good old fashion murder mystery awaits you, what is more important, as it is in the novels by James Lee Burke, is the story of Robicheaux. He is a man who has a strong moral code, yet is violent, alcoholic, and continually puts his family in danger. The complexity of his character is difficult to portray, but TLJ does it better than anyone else could.

It is a fine, beautiful movie. Now if only another movie could be made that also includes Clete Purcell, one of the best sidekicks ever written in a mystery novel series.

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

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,999,896

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ithaca Pictures, Little Bear, TF1 International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 102 min (DVD) 117 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1