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Review

With this ambitious though not entirely successful adaptation of John Berendt's based-on-fact best-seller, director Eastwood takes a walk on the wild side -- Southern style. Cusack is John Kelso, a New York writer assigned to cover an exclusive society party in Savannah. Agendas change, however, when Jim Williams (Spacey), the party's host, is arrested that night for shooting his hustler boyfriend (Law). Was it self-defense or premeditated? Eastwood is able to convey the rhythms of Southern culture and attitudes with a leisurely tempo, though at 154 minutes the film is just too long. And there's a startling addition of a romantic interest for Kelso, which only contradicts the sexual tension between Kelso and Williams. But these flaws notwithstanding, Midnight... is also an often fascinating and surprisingly funny tale, as mannered and charismatic as Williams himself. Spacey is brilliant in registering the humor, propriety, unconvention and sinister charm of this man. It's a riveting portrayal. Playing herself, The Lady Chablis steals every scene she's in.