Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers (WGA):

John Berendt (book)
John Lee Hancock (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Welcome to Savannah, Georgia. A City Of Hot Nights And Cold Blooded Murder.

Plot:

A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Trial | Reporter | Murder Trial | Christmas

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Cusack	...	John Kelso
Kevin Spacey	...	Jim Williams
Jack Thompson	...	Sonny Seiler
Irma P. Hall	...	Minerva
Jude Law	...	Billy Hanson
Alison Eastwood	...	Mandy Nicholls
Paul Hipp	...	Joe Odom
Lady Chablis	...	Chablis Deveau (as The Lady Chablis)
Dorothy Loudon	...	Serena Dawes
Anne Haney	...	Margaret Williams
Kim Hunter	...	Betty Harty
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Luther Driggers
Richard Herd	...	Henry Skerridge
Leon Rippy	...	Detective Boone
Bob Gunton	...	Finley Largent

Also Known As:

Medianoche en el jardín del bien y del mal (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Minuit dans le jardin du bien et du mal (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Mitternacht im Garten von Gut und Böse (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Полночь в саду добра и зла (Russia) [ru]
Keskiyö hyvän ja pahan puutarhassa (Finland) [fi]
Meia-Noite no Jardim do Bem e do Mal (Portugal) [pt]
Meia-noite no Jardim do Bem e do Mal (Brazil) [pt]
Mesanyhta ston kipo tou kalou kai tou kakou (Greece) [el]
Mezzanotte nel giardino del bene e del male (Italy) [it]
Midnat i det gode og ondes have (Denmark) [da]
Midnatt i ondskans och godhetens trädgård (Sweden) [sv]
Ponoc u vrtu dobra i zla (Serbia) [sr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief violence.

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (TV rating) | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Mexico:C | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Churchill's - 9 West Drayton Street, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Company:

Malpaso Productions

Trivia:

Dorothy Loudon's final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John drives Lady Chablis home, the rearview mirror in the car disappears and re-appears.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Minerva: Quit eye balling me, Flavius. I knew you when you was a two bit hustler on Bull Street.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Damn Good Dog (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

That Old Black Magic

Grand Entertainment as well as a lesson on hospitality

I got the chance to view this recently on video and to me it left me in total awe. This is Clint Eastwood's best movie to date in a line of good movies that include his directorial debut from "Play Misty For Me" to his brandish westerns like "The Outlaw Josey Wales" to his Oscar winning "Unforgiven",to even his soft hearted material ranging from his military drama "Heartbreak Ridge" to the emotional "The Bridges of Madison County". But here "Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil" is astounding entertainment and it features actor Kevin Spacey in one of his most gifted role of his career. The movie focuses on the happenings of Savannah,Georgia where the city of hot nights and cold-blooded murder all rolled into one. Its a rarely do movies of this magnitude show so much of true southern city they are depicting and basically get it right. It also shows in the first half of the movie the that way these houses and the designs which are depicted is incredible(yes,Mr. Eastwood has a eye for good art)and they way details are properly set,especially with the Christmas party dinner scene is perfect as well as the overall architecture of some of the most lavish houses ever bulit(if you ever go down to Savannah you must see this to believe it and its worth the trip) as well as the proper way to show courtesy of upright manners in front of your guests where hospitality is always first rate. But as far as the movie is concern(which is based on John Berendt's novel of the same title)what you see is depicted throughout the movie and the overall beauty of the city of Savannah. The people are so loving and caring that it makes you not only leave,but stay here more to see what happens next. I got the chance to read the book on this,but I take the book over the movie as a tossup,but you will not be disappointed. A grand style of entertainment at its finest hour. Thank you so much Kevin Spacey and director Clint Eastwood.