Back in my home town of Newcastle, Australia, people who colour fountains green are called hooligans, or larrikans. Here in the U.S., however, they are called Savannahans. Savannah is proud of its unusual flavor, and its variety of peoples, even when displayed through murders and bizarre legal battles, as is the case in the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

        The film is based on the best selling book of the same name, which first appeared in 1994. The book and the film to some extent chronicle the murder of a young hustler in 1981. But Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is more than just the telling of the legal melodrama. Instead it spins a wild yarn of voodoo, southern men, women, and others, plus music, mayhem, and more.

        The book is lauded as a masterpiece, filled with bizarre characters and actions that engage the imagination and prove the adage that "fact IS stranger than faction." The film is receiving less acclaim, mostly from lovers of the book who seem keen to flair their nostrils and look appalled at Clint Eastwood's attempt to bring this masterpiece to life. Well sure, it cannot be done. Homer, for example, doesn't even give try to give physicality to Helen of Troy, preferring to magnify her beauty by never describing it. Some things are better left to the imagination.

        All that said, I am one of the great unwashed who HAVE NOT read the book (even though admitting this fact seems equal to believing that the world is flat.) Nonetheless, with no knowledge of the book, the murder or the trials, the movie, for me, was a wonderful experience. I loved the whole tenor of the film--there are no car crashes, or mandatory testosterone kicks, instead the film focuses on a bizarre group of people from Savannah.

        Kevin Spacey is the central character, Jim Williams, and he is a delight: pretentious, playful with affected southern manners. Jack Thompson is interesting as Sonny Seiler, but look out for the REAL Sonny Seiler who plays the judge in the court case. Another touch of reality, or unreality, take your pick, comes with The Lady Chablis who plays herself with such over the top abandon that the performance calls for a new definition of over the top. She is over played, overdressed and generally overdone. But that's her reality, after a fashion. John Cusack is almost a relief character. He plays John Kelso, but he's really meant to be John Berendt, the author of the book. The role of this John, beit Cusack, Kelso or Berendt is to allow the audience a point of contact for their incredulity. If you think this film is weird, that's okay, so does he.

        But while there are many things I love about the movie, there is one glaring error. Director Clint Eastwood seems desperate to convey as much of the story as possible, which in the end, makes some parts of the story very unclear, and other parts rather like an elongated Perry Mason episode. And elongated it is, lasting some 2 hours and 45 minutes. But I was more than happy to spend the time with these strange and wonderful characters. To me, the story line was a hindrance, which probably means lovers of book will not like the film. Personally I found Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to be an entertaining romp in a strange land.

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