Movies - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

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	Movies - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a book by John Berendt, and a movie directed by Clint Eastwood based loosely on Berendt's story.

The Book

"The Book," as it is often referred to in its setting of Savannah, Georgia, is atmospheric and Southern Gothic in tone, depicting eccentric Savannah personalities. The plot is propelled by the investigation of the shooting of hustler Danny Hansford (characterized as "a good time not yet had by all") by his 'boyfriend', respected art dealer Jim Williams, an event which resulted in four murder trials. The murder took place in Williams' home, originally built by an ancestor of songwriter and Savannah native Johnny Mercer. Although the two are linked sexually, it's unclear what kind of 'relationship' was shared between them. The book also highlights many other residents of Savannah, most notably The Lady Chablis - a local drag queen and entertainer.

The book, John Berendt's first, was a The New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks following its debut. Despite sounding fictional, the book's plot is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as nonfiction. The book is among the most popular non-fiction releases of all time. However, it is important to note that much of this text is, in fact, fictional and has been highly altered. This is noted by Berendt himself in the Author's Word, which is presented at the end of the book. Berendt himself came to Savannah a year after the original crime occurred and first met Jim Williams in prison after Williams' first conviction. This is exceptionally different from the opening half of the text - where Berendt presents himself as a central character in Savannah's citizen's lives, describing himself as being present for conversations which could never have occurred. This is incredibly important for a reader to remember, so they are not led to believe that this is completely "non-fictional". Many of the incidents and people are indeed based in reality, but much of the novel is fictional or fictionalized.

The title alludes to the Voodoo notion of "midnight"--the period between the time for good magic and the time for evil magic--in "the garden of good and evil," which refers principally to the Bonaventure Cemetery. The famous bird-girl statue--originally designed both as art and as a birdseed holder--was originally located at Bonaventure. As of July 2005 the Bird Girl Statue has been relocated for display to the Telfair Museum in Savannah.

The Movie

There are noteworthy differences between the book and the film. For example, Jim Williams' four murder trials are cut down to one trial. Some viewers felt that the gay sexual content is eliminated, rendering the gay characters colorful and yet asexual (which attracted some heavy criticism). The film added a resolute heterosexual New York City reporter (Cusack) and much of the film explored the reporter's romance of a local woman and his investigation of the town's colorful characters. The film also does not show Williams being the victim of a gay-bashing, nor does it mention the incident where Williams hung a Nazi flag from his balcony so as to disturb the filming of a Civil War era film that was being shot in the square in front of his home, Mercer House. The flag is seen briefly, however, during a flashback: the neatly folded flag is visible in the desk drawer when Williams pulls out his Luger to fire at Danny.

The movie stars John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Alison Eastwood, Jack Thompson, Kim Hunter, Dorothy Loudon, and Jude Law in one of his earliest American film roles. The Lady Chablis, a celebrated Savannah drag queen, plays herself in the film. Several smaller roles, such as the party guests, Jerry Spence the hairdresser, and pianist Emma Kelly ("Lady of Six Thousand Songs") were played by the people actually involved in the original real-life story. The judge in the courtroom scenes is Frank W. "Sonny" Seiler, Jim Williams' real-life lawyer. Also, the University of Georgia mascot, Uga V, appears as his predacesor, Uga IV, in this movie.

Critics

Reviews of the film were generally mixed. Some fans of the novel were unhappy with changes made in the film version. Some felt that the film sensationalized and exploited the gay and transvestite characters for mere shock value, or that the Libertarian views of director Clint Eastwood were displayed in the film. The film's box office performance was ultimately disappointing.

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Movies - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

The Book

The Movie

Critics

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