Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Screenplay by	John Lee Hancock
Produced by	Clint Eastwood
Starring	Kevin Spacey John Cusack
Cinematography	Jack N. Green
Edited by	Joel Cox
Music by	Lennie Niehaus
Production companies	Malpaso Productions Silver Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	November 21, 1997 (1997-11-21)
Running time	155 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Languages	English French
Budget	$30 million[2]
Box office	$25.1 million[3]

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and an adaptation of the book of the same name by John Berendt, which was based on real-life events that took place in Savannah, Georgia in the 1980s. The film features Kevin Spacey as Jim Williams, a man on trial for murder, and John Cusack as John Kelso, a reporter covering the case.

Several changes were made from the book. Many of the more colorful characters were eliminated or made into composite characters. The reporter, played by Cusack, was based upon Berendt, but was given a love interest not featured in the book, played by Eastwood's daughter Alison Eastwood. The multiple Williams trials were combined into one on-screen trial. Jim Williams' real life attorney Sonny Seiler appeared in the movie in the role of Judge White, the presiding judge at the trial.

Advertising for the film became a source of controversy when Warner Bros. used elements of Jack Leigh's famous photograph in its movie posters without his permission.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began in spring 1997, and was shot in Savannah, Georgia.^[4] The film featured a cameo by Uga V, the English bulldog live mascot of the University of Georgia, playing his father, Uga IV. The Uga mascots live in Savannah between football games.

Reception

Reviews of the film were mixed, with a score of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. Casting in the film was praised, however, for Spacey's likeness to Williams.

The film was a box office bomb, grossing $25.1 million^[3] to an estimated $30 million budget.^[2]

Spacey won the best supporting actor award from the Society of Texas Film Critics.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

Integral to the film was the soundtrack which was released in 1997. It is dedicated to the music of Johnny Mercer, a Savannah native. The CD includes versions of songs heard in the film.