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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 40 Reviews)

Interesting Movie
My husband and I had seen the movie several times before I ordered it from Amazon. We never get tired of it even tho the movie is of a different sort! It has love,murder and lots of things to keep you interested. It isn't a movie just for the girls but I would keep it to adults or older teens!

A beautiful film, languidly paced, and a very subtle message of tolerance...
I really liked this film. It's a bit long for most people, but most of Mr. Eastwood's films generally run a bit on the long side. I loved the languourous pacing of the whole thing. The film takes its time showing us Savannah, its people, its character, and its dark side. Kevin Spacey gives a performance that should have won an Oscar. John Cusack is excellent as well, but the most surprising performance here goes to Jack Thompson as Spacey's lawyer. Thompson is actually an Australian actor (who was in Breaker Morant years ago), yet he does the Southern style so well you'd think he was raised in Savannah. The most intriguing performance, if you can call it that, goes to The Lady Chablis, an actual transvestite performer who resides in Savannah. The scene where she goes to the cotillion is one of the best scenes in the entire film. She has grace, dignity, and mystique, and Clint lets the camera linger on her. Along with The Lady Chablis, Spacey's character is homosexual. In Thompson's final argument during the murder trial, he talks about his client's homosexuality, but says if God thinks it's a sin, then God should judge it. The generally positive portrayals of Spacey's character and Chablis show that a film can contain a message, yet be subtle about it and not hammer you over the head with it. Most Hollywood films that have gay characters in them always have that "tolerance" speech in them, as if the viewer is an idiot (well, some viewers are) and has to have everything spoon fed to her or him. Eastwood reportedly got some flack from right wing commentators over this film, primarily for his portrayal of the homosexual characters. Eastwood has identified himself generally as a Republican, but he seems more of a libertarian than anything else. Eastwood's films have always had digs at people who try and dictate your conduct (Bridges of Madison County has a powerful scene in a diner commenting on this), and this film is consistent with that point of view. Some have argued that this film is a horrible adaptation of the book. I haven't read it, but the film itself is very well done.

Not Bad... but Not Great
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was a good crime movie that kept me watching til the end, although it was way too long. John Kelso (John Cusack), a reporter from New York, is sent to Savannah to write a story about the Christmas Party given by Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). It all turns bad when Spacey's character kills somebody and he'll have to face trial for first degree murder. Just like in the novel, Eastwood tries to re-build the atmosphere and the life style from Savannah, the people living there and their habits.
Still there are some things that go wrong. First there's the length of the movie - almost 3 hours. Then there's the plot: it's a normal crime-story, with a murder, then investigations (still this time they are not presented through the eyes of the police, almost absent throughout the whole movie, but through the eyes of the nosy reporter), and of course the trial. Plus a predictable ending. No twists and turns, no surprises. Just a plain old story. I don't see what's the point of Lady Chablis in the movie, she (he) is present in too many scenes, and also the relationship between Cusack and Alison Eastwood (Mandy in the film) kind of developes out of nothing.
This isn't a movie that I'd rush out and rent but if you have time to kill or are really bored, then maybe pick up a copy to rent.

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