Slow (slo) adj. Not moving or able to move quickly; proceeding at a low speed. Marked by a low speed or tempo.
Southern (suth'ern) adj. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of southern regions or the South.
Clint Eastwood (klin't est-wood) noun. Famous actor /director best known for squinty eyes, and the infamous line, "Make my day."
Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil (mid-nit in the gar'dn ov good and evel) noun. A new film directed by Clint Eastwood featuring a
slow-moving story set in the South.
Disappointment (dis' e-point' ment) noun. The feeling you'll experience after watching this movie (esp. If you had high expectations of it).
Okay, that's enough of the dictionary exercise, but all of it's a rather accurate description of this film. Adapted from John Berendt's best selling novel and based on true-life events, this story has all of the solid fundamentals of being good. First off, there's a murder and differing opinions of what really happened. Then there's a wild assortment of colorful characters, all of whom have something to say about what's happened. They're embodied by a tremendously talented cast, and an accomplished director helms the whole project.
"So what's the problem?" you might ask. Well, the problem is the story itself. While it's based on a real-life murder and the effects it had on a Southern city and its inhabitants, it isn't overly exciting or emotionally moving on the big screen. Nothing happens that's terribly original and the prolonged murder trial is -- to put it politely -- quite boring. And tedious. Although the film has its share of uniquely distinct characters, they alone can't carry the film. The result is a butt- numbing two and a half hours of Southern hospitality, manners and what most audiences will find as a less than sensational murder story.
Beyond the lackluster plot, the rest of the fault lies with The Man With No Name. Actually, we know who he is, and actor/director Clint Eastwood's long career has had its share of ups and downs. For every award-winning "Unforgiven" and "Bird," there have been the atrocities such as "The Rookie" and "Pink Cadillac." Granted, he didn't direct that last film, but just starring in it was certainly bad enough.
Of course this, his twentieth directorial project, isn't anywhere as bad as those, but it's also nowhere near his best. Successfully infusing the half realistic, half stereotype of the eccentrically slow South, Eastwood does create a very unique world. Shot on location in Savannah where the real story took place, the film perfectly looks, and feels, the part. Unfortunately, that slow Southern stereotype is the film's undoing. Matched with the mediocre plot, the results are devastatingly slow.
What saves the film from being awful are the performers and the roles they inhabit. Whether the real-life characters were quite so colorful is questionable (artistic license being what it is), but they're certainly enjoyable to behold. There's the porter who's paid to walk an imaginary, but once alive dog for fifteen dollars a week. One of the jurors walks around with horseflies tied to his suit and he carries a vial of "poison" that he occasionally threatens to unleash in the city's drinking water.
We also get to meet The Lady Chablis, a male transvestite/female impersonating performer who steals every scene he/she is in. Played by the real-life person from the original incidents, this character symbolizes that this laid back city is filled with more interesting personas than it would like the world to believe. Even Williams attorney, is a bit off-kilter as he owns the bulldog mascot for the University of Georgia and leaves right before the trial to partake in more collegiate activities.
Then there are the two main characters successfully played by John Cusack and Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Cusack plays a likeable, if not stereotypical outsider who finds himself in a twilight-zone type world that as he describes it, makes New York seem boring. His character is given some nice touches, however, such as playing a tape of N.Y. street noises that allows him to fall asleep. We've always liked Cusack and the somewhat offbeat characters he plays, and he does a fine job here.
Spacey inhabits the much more interesting character, and plays this man whose socialite manner hides what even he knows is a darker side of himself. Gracious but beguiling, we're led early on to believe that he's capable of being quite different from his outward persona. When Kelso asks what a painting, that's superimposed on top of another, is obscuring, Jim replies, "I rather enjoy not knowing." Later, and purposefully taken out of context, Jim comments (about correctly estimating Kelso's suit size), "I have an eye for framing things." From being a hospitable host to loudly playing his own pipe organ to terrorize the hated neighbor dog, this character is anything but run of the mill.
Despite all of the film's fun characterizations, however, the expectations of what will follow are never met. The characters are interesting, as is the plot initially, but it soon boils down into a whole lot of something about nothing. The revelations of what may have really occurred are less than sensational as is the case with the "outing" of the characters' real behavior. Whether we're supposed to be surprised -- as the characters are -- by the fact that the Lady Chablis is really a man (ala "The Crying Game") it's preposterous since there's no doubt that this person is obviously a man (are the people in the story blind?). And Jim's explanation/revelation of what really happened on the night of the murder will bore most audience members.
There are also some other elements that add flavor, but not much else to the story. Jim has a romantic thing for Mandy (played by Clint's real daughter), but most of it seems superficial and feels like there was probably much more to it in the novel (Eastwood does admit to shooting a "love scene" between the two and then cutting it from this film). Then there's the voodoo priestess Mirvana who's brought in by Jim to put a supernatural spin on the events. While it does provide for stereotypical Southern voodoo material, the scenes with her seem more goofy then truly scary or disturbing -- almost as if the film were trying to make fun of this traditional bayou lore. What it does provide is the film's unique title -- the cemetery is the "garden" and midnight, of course, is the witching hour after which Mirvana can do her evil voodoo tricks.
Nonetheless, and despite all of the interesting sounding characters, settings and the murder story, the film is boring. It's way too long (they could easily have cut out a good half hour) and way too predictable. Luckily the wide variety of characterizations keeps one from dozing off during the film, but be forewarned that you're in for the long haul if you decide to see it. Much like molasses sluggishly oozing from a tipped over jar on the front porch of a Savannah home, the stuff coming out might look good and be quite tasty, but it's terribly boring to watch. We give "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" a 5 out of 10.
![[Screen It]](https://www.screenit.com/images/screenit_subscriber_logo.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Around the World in 80 Days]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/around_the_world_in_80_days_2022_small.jpg)
![[Family Camp]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/family_camp_small.jpg)
![[Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/doctor_strange_in_the_multiverse_of_madness_small.jpg)