mike48128 Although based on a true story, it didn't exactly happen this way. A wealthy "upstanding" Savannah citizen kills someone in his home. Is it self defense or murder? This movie has everything: Comedy, sexual deviations (homosexuality, cross-dressing), eccentric characters, voodoo, and a Matlock-Perry Mason-style trial. The trial is well-staged and was not boring to me;The "surprise" ending where "poetic justice is served" is somewhat contrived. It's more of a how-done-it than a who-done it, as the defendant confesses to the magazine reporter what really happened. The intended "victim" almost gets shot but the Luger still has the safety on. Then he kills his assailant, anyway. Hints of possible incest and an illegitimate child? Blackmail? A real transsexual portrays "herself", hilariously. Two playfully haunting voodoo seances through both white and colored cemeteries, plus a modern-day black cotillion show the old and new city. Beautifully photographed in Savannah, Georgia, where it "happened". Wonderful songs by Johnny Mercer. Actually, There were 4 trials (he was acquitted) and it took its toll. The man died almost a decade later of pneumonia and a heart attack. Other objections make this from being a "10": What else is fictional or minutes too long, although introducing the characters makes for great fun. Also, the "F" word is used far too many times? Scene sealers: "Chablis" the Entertainer, the mascot bulldog and the pet pussycat. The funniest hospital scene since "9 to 5". Because of great direction by Clint Eastwood,the movie has a "sense-of-style" about it. Since I enjoyed the movie, I upgraded it from the "8" rating it probably deserves.

dworldeater I have not read the book, but I did enjoy the film. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" is a pretty solid noirish mystery story with some odd, quirky characters and interesting twists and turns. This is based on a true story, but it is a film so some of the facts and details have been changed from the original story. The story is told from the point of view of John Kelso(Cusack) a writer who becomes embroiled with a murder case and encounters some truly interesting people from the Savannah, Georgia area. We have the Lady Chablis(who plays herself in the movie), a transsexual stand up comedienne, Minerva, a practitioner of voodoo, a man that walks an imaginary dog and a nut job that keeps flies attached to his shirt and threatens to poison the water supply.(that character is played by Eastwood regular, Geoffrey Lewis) John Cusack gives a good performance here, but is nearly outshined by Kevin Spacey, who plays a rich eccentric on trial for murder. Also worth noting is Clint's daughter Alison Eastwood appears and is gorgeous and love interest for leading man John Cusack. The film looks and sounds good and in spite of its oddness or quirkiness plays as a well made and classy film. Interesting film for sure, I definitely need to check out the book.

henry tortoise It started slow and got slower. After an hour I should have stopped watching it. By a bad decision was made and I kept watching it. After two hours I eventually had the good sense to stop watching because nothing interesting had happened in those two hours. If only I'd given up on it sooner I could have spent the time better, perhaps ironing a shirt or cleaning the oven. The title sounded good and the cast was a good one so I expectations might have been raised, but even if I'd just beamed down from space and not known any of the actors my opinion would be no different. It was one of the worst films I've seen in a very long time, if not the worst. Some poor films have something redeeming, but I struggle to think of one for this film.

SnoopyStyle John Kelso (John Cusack) is a writer from Town and Country magazine. He's brought to Savannah to write a feature on Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey)'s famous Christmas party. The city is filled with eccentrics. Kelso finds nouveau rich Williams fascinating. Mandy Nicholls (Alison Eastwood) brings him to Joe Odom's party. The next night, he attends Williams' party. Williams' volatile young lover Billy Hanson (Jude Law) is dead after a fight with Williams. Kelso stays to write a book about the murder trial.Director Clint Eastwood is more interested in the wild crazy characters than any murder mystery. His matter-of-fact style may not be the best for the material. This needs flair. The weird characters could give this movie great moodiness or flamboyance. Either way would be great. Instead, Eastwood is just pointing the camera at them. Some of it is interesting but the movie isn't very engaging.