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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a work by John Berendt. The book was Berendt's first, and became a The New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks following its debut.[1]
The book was subsequently made into a 1997 movie directed by Clint Eastwood based loosely on Berendt's story.
The book
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is atmospheric and Southern Gothic in tone, depicting a wide range of eccentric Savannah personalities.
The action that serves as a catalyst in the book is the killing of Danny Hansford, a local hustler (characterized as "a good time not yet had by all") by respected art dealer Jim Williams. Four murder trials resulted, with the final one ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to having the case moved away from the Savannah jury pool. The book characterizes the killing as a murder. Hansford and Williams were linked sexually, but the exact nature of their relationship was unclear. The death took place in Williams's home, originally built by an ancestor of songwriter and Savannah native Johnny Mercer.
The book also highlights many other residents of Savannah, most notably The Lady Chablis, a local drag queen and entertainer. Chablis provides both a Greek chorus of sorts as well as a lighthearted contrast to the more serious action.
The book's plot is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as nonfiction. Because it reads like a novel, it is sometimes referred to as a "nonfiction novel," a subgenre popularized by Truman Capote and Norman Mailer. (Booksellers generally feature the title in the "true crime" subsection.) It is among the most popular nonfiction releases of all time.
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 Bonaventure Cemetery.
The famous Bird Girl statue, originally designed both as art and as a birdseed holder, was originally located at Bonaventure. A Savannah photographer, Jack Leigh, was commissioned to take a photograph for the cover of the book and created his now famous photograph of the statue. The Bird Girl was relocated in 1997 for display in the Telfair Museum in Savannah.
Subjective elements
While the author contends that the essence of the book is true, and the events did occur, much of the book's text is highly subjective. Berendt himself makes this clear in the Author's Word, which appears at the end of the book.
Berendt actually came to Savannah a year after the crime occurred and met Jim Williams in prison after Williams's second conviction. This is substantially different from the opening half of the text, in which Berendt presents himself as a central character introduced into the story as it happens. The narrative has Berendt depicting himself as present during conversations that he could never have heard. Many of the incidents and people are indeed based in reality, but much of the book has been restructured or fictionalized for effect.
Film
The 1997 film, directed by Clint Eastwood, featured Kevin Spacey as Jim Williams and Jude Law as Danny Hansford. He was called Billy Carl Hanson in the movie, so as not to offend members of the Hansford family. The Lady Chablis appeared as herself. [2]
Several changes were made from the book. Many of the more colorful characters were eliminated or made into composite characters. The reporter role, played by John Cusack, was based upon Berendt. However Cusack's character was given a love interest not featured in the book, a role played by Eastwood's daughter Alison Eastwood. The multiple Williams trials were combined into one on-screen trial.
Reviews of the film were generally mixed, with praise for Spacey's likeness to Williams and the inclusion of Chablis. The film's box office performance was ultimately disappointing. Fans of the book were generally disappointed in the film, particularly the aforementioned differences.
Advertising for the film became a source of controversy when Warner Bros. used elements of Jack Leigh's famous photograph in its posters for the movie without his permission. They later settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.citation needed
Soundtrack
Integral to the film was the soundtrack, dedicated to the music of Johnny Mercer, a Savannah native. The CD (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture--1997) includes versions of songs heard in the film.
- Skylark - K. D. Lang
- Too Marvelous for Words - Joe Williams
- Autumn Leaves - Paula Cole
- Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) - Rosemary Clooney
- Dream - Brad Mehldau
- Days of Wine and Roses - Cassandra Wilson
- That Old Black Magic - Kevin Spacey
- Come Rain or Come Shine - Alison Eastwood
- Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive - Clint Eastwood
- This Time the Dream's on Me - Alison Krauss
- Laura - Kevin Mahogany
- Midnight Sun - Diana Krall
- I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande) - Joshua Redman
- I Wanna Be Around - Tony Bennett
See also
References
- ^ New Georgia Encyclopedia: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
- ^ IMDB: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
External links
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