"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" has a fairly inauspicious beginning for an Eastwood film, with journalist John Kelso (John Cusack) arriving in Savannah Georgia to document the Christmas party of local personality Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). Planted in the dense foliage of Georgia, a violent encounter soon sends Kelso on a trail of events to pry open the personal lives of these Cajun residents, and maybe even finding his story underneath it all.
Whilst the film moves slow under its carefree southern veneer, the eccentric range of quirky characters, ranging from party-throwing squatters, a flirtatious transvestite, and best of all, a jive-talking voodoo practitioner, all provide entertaining and comedic encounters for Kelso.
The film soon transitions to a courtroom drama that centers around the trial of millionaire Jim Williams, played by a moustachioed Kevin Spacey. He is able to pull of the accent convincingly, and that is all that is required in order for him to convince you as a southern artisocrat even as he spits out one-liners in supreme Spacey fashion. But there remains a hidden intention beneath his character's surface that he hints at all too well with the eyes.
In fact, all the actors are in top form here, even a distracting Jude Law in a brief role. If it's anyone, it is John Cusack as the main character who perhaps leaves a bit more to be desired, along with his underdeveloped and tacked on love interest. Still, she is played well by Alison Eastwood, and together with Clint himself, they put together an atmospheric soundtrack that only adds to the immersion.
Ill-paced and often confusing at times, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is still a worthwhile romp into the secrets of America's southern edge... one that at times feels like another planet.
Whilst the film moves slow under its carefree southern veneer, the eccentric range of quirky characters, ranging from party-throwing squatters, a flirtatious transvestite, and best of all, a jive-talking voodoo practitioner, all provide entertaining and comedic encounters for Kelso.
The film soon transitions to a courtroom drama that centers around the trial of millionaire Jim Williams, played by a moustachioed Kevin Spacey. He is able to pull of the accent convincingly, and that is all that is required in order for him to convince you as a southern artisocrat even as he spits out one-liners in supreme Spacey fashion. But there remains a hidden intention beneath his character's surface that he hints at all too well with the eyes.
In fact, all the actors are in top form here, even a distracting Jude Law in a brief role. If it's anyone, it is John Cusack as the main character who perhaps leaves a bit more to be desired, along with his underdeveloped and tacked on love interest. Still, she is played well by Alison Eastwood, and together with Clint himself, they put together an atmospheric soundtrack that only adds to the immersion.
Ill-paced and often confusing at times, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is still a worthwhile romp into the secrets of America's southern edge... one that at times feels like another planet.