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| John Cusack is a writer who gets the story of a lifetime from a murderous antiques dealer, played by Kevin Spacey, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
I loved the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, published in 1994, like millions of other readers. I
was very disappointed in the film version, when it was released in 1997. I recently re-watched
the Clint Eastwood-directed take on the Savannah-set, real-life murder and found it more enjoyable. Still, it confirmed what
I recalled as its flaws, and why Midnight
failed at the box office.
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| Jude Law is ready for his close-up as the shot boy toy, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was one of those
novelized non-fiction stories inspired by Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Jim Williams is a subtly charming/creepy wealthy man,
up for murder charges of his very young male lover, Danny Hansford, in 1981.
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| Kevin Spacey scores a bull’s-eye as the charming but sinister antiques dealer accused of murder, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
But Berendt's tone was
lighter, reminding me of Dominick Dunne's novels on high society types and their
scandals. Berendt admitted to taking artistic license in regard to certain
characters and chronology, yet the story itself—of the infamous shooting—is true.
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| Some unorthodox research is required in the courtroom drama, 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Clint Eastwood takes
things a step further: the fictionalized protagonist that's a stand-in for the
author now becomes involved with a local woman, who is already dating a
colorful pianist. The problem is the real-life woman never dated either of the
real-life men, because they were gay. While the faux romance is pleasant
enough, it takes up too much time in the already convoluted true story. The motivation is also questionable:
was this rote romance meant to placate mainstream audiences contending with Midnight's many “colorful” characters?
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| Alison Eastwood & John Cusack play fictionalized characters in a fictional romance, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Pleasant but superfluous! |
Berendt wasn't even in
Savannah when the murder took place, but chose to place himself earlier in the
name of storytelling. The author arrived after trial two; Eastwood condenses
the four trials into one. So, take the book and film of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with a pillar of salt.
Maybe the story will get an excellent documentary treatment one day. Still, the
core story intrigues.
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| Director Clint Eastwood with star John Cusack, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
While I still think
Clint Eastwood was not stylistically a good fit for the tale—where was Mike
Nichols or Norman Jewison?—Clint accomplished two goals, streamlined storytelling
and directing good performances.
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| The men of 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
When all the debits are
set aside, one can still enjoy Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil’s story of life among Savannah's quirky
characters, disrupted by an unsavory killing. In retrospect, the rich in detail
story might have been better served as a cable mini-series. There is a certain
amount of style in Midnight, Eastwood
uses Johnny Mercer songs on the soundtrack—his family once owned the house
where the murder occurs. The cinematography of lovely Savannah is a plus. Some
of the actual participants, including notorious Lady Chablis, are cast.
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| John Cusack plays the fictionalized version of John Berendt, author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Though the story feels
like the lite version of Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil, what is served is well-done. The performances are
solid. I like John Cusack, who plays the fictionalized author John Kelso, and
he gives a charming, wry performance. But in this out-sized tale, he's a bit
overshadowed. What a shame that Robert Downey, Jr. wasn’t available, an actor
of great style and humor. Sigh, Downey was then at the height of his personal issues. He
would have been much more interesting to see, interacting with the wacky locals
and the silky villain.
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| Kevin Spacey is subtly charming and creepy as the wealthy man up for murder of his young male lover, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
As the charming killer who claims self-defense, Kevin Spacey gives a restrained yet charismatic performance as wealthy antiques dealer, Jim Williams. How ironic that Kevin played such a sinister, dualistic character, considering what would come later. However, I think Spacey is a great actor, no matter what his personal problems. And like most great actors, Spacey can be prone to overacting. Eastwood preferred understatement from his actors and gets subtlety from Spacey. Kevin Spacey's scenes with John Cusack remind me of the cat that's about to chomp the canary. Compare Kevin's observantly sly Savannah gentleman in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to his hammy southern politician in House of Cards.
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| Jude Law may be rough trade, but Kevin Spacey has a few tricks up his sleeve in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Jude Law's wild
redneck Danny Hansford (Billy Hanson in the film) was not a big character in
the book, and gets even shorter thrift here. What Law does get to do livens
things up and he certainly has the animal magnetism.
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| Bang, bang, Jude hit the ground! Law is the local hothead who doesn't get the last shot, but gets the last look, in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Alison Eastwood, though
superfluous to the story, is direct and charming as Mandy, the local love interest
to the visiting author. Paul Hipp is very charismatic as pianist Joe Odom; Jack
Thompson is solid as the lawyer whose thankless job is to get Jim Williams off
in self-defense. In the film, the real lawyer (Sonny Seiler) plays the judge! Oh, to have been a fly on
the wall, watching Clint Eastwood direct The Lady Chablis as herself—who’s quite
amusing as the drag queen diva in transition.
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| Love a great courtroom drama! 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" isn't great, but it's still a good watch. |
Some of the book's colorful characters are
charming cameos: flamboyant socialite Serena Dawes (Dorothy Loudon); Luther
Driggers,
who walks around with horseflies strung to his coat (Geoffrey Lewis); pianist Emma
Kelly, the Lady of a Thousand Songs, played herself; and especially voodoo
priestess, Minerva (Irma P. Hall).
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil disappointed the
critics and many fans of the book, which should have been a no-brainer. This
also happened later with adaptations of huge bestsellers Angela's Ashes and The
Goldfinch. This just shows there is no set formula to bring a popular story
from page to screen.
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| The haunting graveyard statue of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
Oddly, the film talent
has far outlived the real-life characters!
Danny
Hansford, name changed to Billy Hanson in the film, was born in 1960, and killed
May 2, 1981.
On
January 14, 1990, eight months after his acquittal, Jim Williams died at his
home, partly of heart failure, at age 59.
Nancy
Hillis aka Mandy Nicholls, died at Savannah's Chandler Hospital in
2016, at aged 68. Joe Odom died in 1991, from complications of AIDS. He
was 43.
The
Lady Chablis died in 2016 from pneumonia, at age 59.
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| The Lady Chablis, in a 'Dynasty' moment, plays herself in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." |
As
for the film-makers:
Director
Clint Eastwood was 96 years old on May 31, 2026, born 1930. Eastwood retired from
film-making this year, as well.
Author
John Berendt is 86 years old, born December 5, 1939.
Kevin
Spacey will
be 67 on July 26, born 1959.
John Cusack John Kelso turned 60 on June 28, born 1966. Cusack was just 30 while filming 1997's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil the movie is solid and will hopefully take you
straight to the book!
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| "Y'all come back now, ya hear?" Kevin Spacey in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” |
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| Play Misty for Me |
My look at 1971’s Play Misty for Me, Clint
Eastwood in his directing debut:
https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/05/clint-eastwoods-directorial-debut-play.html
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