Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil Page #9

Synopsis: This panoramic tale of Savannah's eccentricities focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams: self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso a magazine reporter finds himself in Savannah amid the beautiful architecture and odd doings to write a feature on one of William's famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent, young and sexy lover, Billy. Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along the way he encounters the irrepressible Lady Chablis, a drag queen commedienne, Sonny Seiler, lawyer to Williams, whose famous dog UGA is the official mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, an odd man who keeps flies attached to mini leashes on his lapels and threatens daily to poison the water supply, the Married Ladies Card Club, and Minerva, a spiritualist. Between being Jim's buddy, cuddling up to a torch singer, mee
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Director(s): Clint Eastwood
Production: Warner Home Video
  1 win & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Metacritic:
57
Rotten Tomatoes:
49%
R
Year:
1997
155 min
1,231 Views


you've been to me.

You know what?

You've treated me like a perfect lady.

You've even made me feel

so very special.

You know,

people can be so mean sometimes.

But not you.

I want to ask you something.

John, do you think I'm beautiful?

Yes, I think you're very pretty.

CHABLIS:
Pretty?

I'm just not your type?

Are you testifying for me?

Of course I am. You think I give a sh*t

about Miss Jim Williams?

I don't even know that b*tch.

Never even met her.

Listen...

...on cross-examination they'll be

pretty rough on you and your background.

I have nothing to hide and I'm

not ashamed of anything I've ever done.

You should know that you taking the

stand is a blanket indictment of Hanson.

Let me get this right, now.

You're saying because Billy hung out

with drag queens, he deserved to die?

- It's f***ed up, but, yeah.

- That's f***ed up.

Maybe you shouldn't testify.

John, how sweet.

You really care.

Good. Because, guess what?

I'm testifying.

I am testifying.

You see, those folks think

they're using the Doll...

...but the Doll's

using them right back.

I'm going to use that courtroom

as my coming-out party.

You see, you know who I am.

I'm the Lady Chablis.

Hear me roar.

JOHN:
Look out!

CHABLIS:
Meow.

Besides,

I've already bought a new ensemble.

- Really? Is it nice?

- You'll see, hon.

Listen to me.

We must get out of here.

It's rude of you to bust in on me.

I'd never do that to you.

LaVella's mother

is about to have a seizure.

Somebody put a spoon in her mouth, then,

because I'm not leaving.

You're leaving now.

CHABLIS:
I am not.

JOHN:
I'll buy you a drink.

CHABLIS:
Buy me a drink.

JOHN:
Outside of here.

CHABLIS:
Buy me a diamond.

JOHN:
I'll buy you a diamond.

CHABLIS:
Give me some.

JOHN:
I'm not giving you sh*t.

Oh, come on!

You know I'm straight.

So am I.

Straight to my house.

Let's go.

BAILIFF:

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear the evidence you're about

to give is the truth, so help you God?

I do.

SONNY:

Now, Miss De Veau...

...I'll ask you a question and

I want you to answer to the jury...

...so that they can understand.

Yes, and what is that?

You'd like me to explain my "T"?

SONNY:

Your "T"?

CHABLIS:

My "T."

SONNY:

Yeah, explain your "T"...

...in as plain a language

as you possibly can for our friends.

CHABLIS:
I will try my best

to explain to you jurors.

CHABLIS:
I could throw

words and labels at all of you...

...but you seem like nice people.

So I'm going to be open and honest.

I have a man's toolbox...

...but everything else about me

is pure lady.

I love to dress in women's clothes.

I love to go shopping.

I love to have my nails done...

...and I love men.

Any questions?

And, ma'am,

I hope you don't mind my saying...

...blue is definitely not your color.

SONNY:

Okay, gals, you're both pretty, now.

What I want to know

and want you to tell the jury is...

...how you and Billy Hanson first met.

Billy hit on me one night at the...

Strike that, Your Honor.

CHABLIS:

Billy and I clienteled.

SONNY:

"Clienteled."

Will you explain what that means?

We socialized together for a little

while, until he met my roommate Corinne.

SONNY:
Corinne.

Now, you telling me that...

...Corinne and Billy Hanson

were intimate?

Hot and intimate.

Will you tell the jury...

...did Billy Hanson use drugs?

Yes.

Billy did pills, smoked pot...

...little coke.

He sold drugs.

He'd stay with us sometimes, so

sometimes we had stash around the house.

- Mrs. Chablis...

- Miss.

Course, Miss Chablis.

Do you yourself take drugs?

I smoke a little pot.

I'm a mellow kind of girl.

SONNY:

I understand.

Well, tell me

if you know what effect, if any...

...these drugs

had on the relationship...

...between your friend Corinne

and Billy.

Well, now, when Billy got high,

he could be very, very hostile.

SONNY:
Hostile.

CHABLIS:
Hostile, when he was high.

SONNY:
Would you explain to the jury

what you mean by hostile?

CHABLIS:
I can do more than that, hon.

Let me show you something.

CHABLIS:

Look at my driver's license.

(JUDGE POUNDS GAVEL)

JUDGE:
Just a minute.

This isn't proper.

Be quiet.

JUDGE:

I'll handle this.

Just a minute.

JUDGE:

That's not proper procedure.

Sheriff.

Pick up this item, please.

CHABLIS:
My eye. He hit me. I looked

like that dog from The Little Rascals.

Members of the jury, I'm instructing you

to disregard this outburst.

JUDGE:

Pay no attention to that picture.

Your Honor? It's the truth.

I'm not lying.

Your Honor, the people...

Be quiet.

JUDGE:
Now we got to

get this thing under control.

You sit down, Mr. De Veau.

Miss De Veau.

I'm a single girl.

Miss De Veau, whatever.

Have a seat.

Okay, but please don't get too huffy.

You listen to me.

I'm in charge of this courtroom,

not you.

Here's the way it works:

These lawyers

are going to ask you questions...

...and you answer them.

If I tell you to stop, you stop.

If I tell you to sit, you sit.

And I don't want you to communicate

directly with that jury.

Don't produce any more items.

Don't show any photographs.

Do you understand that?

Yes, Your Honor.

I understand.

Mrs. Wright threw in some gumbo.

JOHN:

I got you cigarettes.

Thank you. How are we coming

with our character witnesses?

I thought we would limit it to 3 because

we don't need too much fawning and...

Why not?

Tell him how many friends

are lining up to defend me.

I suggest Wanda Javitz.

She has a commanding vocal presence.

She declined, Jim...

...along with some others.

JIM:

Declined?

They clamored for my friendship.

Hoping and praying

for invitations to my parties.

Where were their judgments then?

I hope Wanda knows this puts her

in the out box for my Christmas party.

I don't think we have to worry

about character witnesses.

They got theirs, we got ours.

When do I take the stand?

Last.

Good.

They'll have heard all the theories.

We'll finish with the truth.

I look forward to this.

It's important, not that I'm acquitted,

but that everyone knows I'm innocent.

I refuse to live in a world

where whispers become fact.

Guilty men murmur.

The innocent shout to the rafters.

Hear, hear.

We may need you to come clean

about the relationship with Billy.

Your sexuality, Jim.

Finley's taken this thing in a direction

we didn't count on.

His own private witch-hunt.

It's going to destroy Mother.

Jim, she was in court.

She heard George Tucker.

Face it, she already knows.

Not from me she doesn't.

What if she wasn't in court?

What's the matter?

Gunpowder?

Damn gunshot residue test.

Your expert witness covered it.

He said the tests are unreliable.

Jury thinks that's a cop-out.

Every one of them knows Doc Poe.

Why listen to some egghead

from up north? No offense.

No, none taken.

He said gunpowder wipes off.

Maybe when they handled the body...

Boone says he bagged them.

Doc Poe says they were bagged

when he performed the autopsy.

When are they going to get wiped off?

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John Lee Hancock

John Lee Hancock, Jr. (born December 15, 1956) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for directing the sports drama films The Rookie (2002) and The Blind Side (2009), and the historical drama films Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and The Founder (2016). more…

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