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 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. 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.

Related Topics:
Asexual - Nazi - Civil War - Mercer House

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The movie stars John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Jack Thompson, Kim Hunter, Dorothy Loudon, and Jude Law in one of his earlier roles. The Lady Chablis, a celebrated Savannah drag queen, plays herself in the film. Several smaller roles, such as the party guests and Jerry the hairdresser, were played by the people actually involved in the original real-life story. The judge in the courtroom scenes is in fact Frank W. "Sonny" Seiler, Jim Williams' real-life lawyer.

Related Topics:
John Cusack - Kevin Spacey - Jack Thompson - Kim Hunter - Dorothy Loudon - Jude Law - The Lady Chablis - Frank W. "Sonny" Seiler

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~