Clint Eastwood directed this adaptation of John Berendt's non-fiction best-seller about a Savannah, Georgia, murder case. When this film was released, Berendt's book had been on best-seller lists for four years. As the film begins, New York journalist John Kelso (
John Cusack), alter ego of author Berendt, arrives in Savannah to do a brief
Town and Country article on the annual Christmas party given by sophisticated, urbane antique dealer Jim Williams (
Kevin Spacey), who restored many mansions in Savannah, including the famed Mercer House where he lives. After the party, Williams kills his rude, violent lover Billy Hanson (
Jude Law), explaining it as a necessary act of self-defense. Kelso decides to stay in Savannah to cover the trial, encountering a variety of colorful locals, eccentric and otherwise, including black transvestite nightclub performer
Lady Chablis (appearing as herself), financially challenged bon vivant Joe Odom (
Paul Hipp), vocalist Mandy Nichols (
Alison Eastwood), voodoo priestess Minerva (
Irma P. Hall), and Williams's deceptively powerful defense attorney Sonny Seiler (Australian actor
Jack Thompson with a very convincing Southern accent). Kelso develops a romantic interest in Mandy while tracking the events that led up to the killing. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide