Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Major Disappointment

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"Ghosts of Mississippi" from 1996 is based on the true story of the third attempt to put Byron De La Beckwith in prison for the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. It stars James Woods, Alec Baldwin, Whoopie Goldberg, Craig T. Nelson, William P. Macy, Susanna Thompson,and Virginia Madsen.Medgar Evers was killed outside his home in Mississippi, shot in the back, in June of 1963. A member of the Klan and a known racist, Byron De La Beckwith was arrested. The jury at his trial consisted of twelve white men, and while Evers' wife was on the stand, some bigwig walked over to De La Beckwith and shook hands with him. A police officer gave the defendant an alibi. Twice, the trials ended in a hung jury. Thirty years later, the district attorney reopened the case, and the assistant DA, De Laughter, made a commitment to it. Many witnesses were dead, there was no court transcript, and what evidence there was had disappeared. De Laughter's wife left him and he was harassed throughout the investigation and trial.De Laughter, with new witnesses, new evidence, and new jurors won the case. De La Beckwith, then around 70 years old, went to prison and died there in 2001.The movie was filmed in Jackson, Mississippi, where Evers was killed, and members of the Evers family and Martin Luther King's daughter Yolanda were all in the movie, and Mrs. Evers was a consultant.So that's the background. Now for the film. Aside from being based on a true story, and the excellent performance by James Woods as the young and then elderly De La Beckwith, there is nothing to separate this from other courtroom dramas like "A Time to Kill" and countless others.The story is very compelling and emotional, as it's painful to remember what the south was like for blacks in the '60s, and thinking about this man getting away with murder is infuriating.The problem lay in the focus of the script, which is on De Laughter (Baldwin). It would have been more interesting and helpful to viewers -- now seeing this on DVD nearly 20 years after the movie was made, and 50 years after the incident -- to have learned more about Evers, and to see more of how it really was in the south for blacks, not just some footage at the beginning.Yes, Alec Baldwin was once adorable, as he is here. He's extremely likable and gives a straightforward, honest performance as a hard-working man, a loving father, and a determined attorney who wants to see this case through to the end. Whoopi Goldberg is an odd choice for Mrs. Evers, but an inspired one. She brings quiet dignity to the role that Myrlie Evers undoubtedly has in real life. The supporting cast is good.If this film were made today, the focus would be more on the Evers family. Times have changed. Like the ghost that De Laughter's daughter kept seeing in her room, ghosts who were victims of prejudice and hatred are still around, wanting their story to be told.

In 1963 the black civil rights leader Medger Evers was shot down on his driveway. The suspect was a white man called Byron de la Beckwith who is naturally acquitted. Mrs Evers never gives up and, around 30 years later she gets a lawyer to try and prove jury tampering and thus force the DA's office to reopen the case. Despite only have two pages of an old police report and none of the original physical evidence, the Assistant DA Bobby DeLaughter reluctantly picks up the case and begins to investigate. Over several years of effort, he begins to make progress – a fact that leaves him exposed to black politicians, white politicians and racist groups from all over the state. Movies about civil rights and the degree of racism in the 1960's Southern America are always going to be impacting because they are based on fact and it is hard to watch such 'facts' from just a few decades ago in a supposedly world leading country. However these films cannot rest of their subject matter and rely on that to deliver the goods – they must have good acting, writing, directing etc just as any other film. In a way that is what this film does – it relies on the impact of this true story to do all the work while the other aspects of the film are weak. The basic plot is OK and is based on a true story but some of it is dumb. Some of it must be fictionalised and I really, really hope that Mrs Evers did not sit on the original court transcripts for decades, thus greatly hindering any work by the two or three DA's she has trying to reopen the case. Could she not have photocopied (in the late 80's) the document and passed that on, while keeping the original safe? Like I said – I don't know if this is true or not but I hope it is not in this regard particularly. Outside of this nitpicking, the actual story is enjoyable enough and it is hard not to be moved by the background and the emotion of the reality – however the film rather lazily rides on this and relies on the history and several key moments to keep it going. Certainly Reiner has no clue how to inject energy and tension into this story – happily sitting back and letting the material speak for itself rather than working to make it better as a film.What I mean by 'relying' is that other aspects are poor. The actual script is weak, writing lazy heart-string-pulling moments combine with dialogue that isn't natural and is slightly corny, to damage the film. It is a shame, with such a solid courtroom thriller to work with that the writing isn't any better. Likewise the characters are very basic – Delay is evil, Evers is a strong, good-hearted woman with a lot of dignity and a reservoir of emotion, DeLaughter is a good family guy etc etc. I'm not saying that they are not like this in real life but the film makes no effort to expand on these basic brushstrokes. For this reason the cast don't perform that well (even if some were nominated for various awards). Baldwin is OK in the lead role – he is a solid actor and does what is required – but he hardly stands out. Goldberg carries herself with dignity until she gets her chance to let out emotion near the end – it is an easy character and Goldberg hardly has to stretch even once. Woods is a better actor than this film would let you think – his character is a good racist but it is a simplistic performance that hardly gives Woods a chance to shin – he simply does what anyone else would have done. The support cast is full of famous faces that add real class even if they don't have much more to do than show their faces and deliver simple roles. Macy, Madsen, Nelson, Ladd, Romano, Stahl and Cobbs stick in the mind the most and are all OK. The film also has Darrell Evers playing himself but chances are you won't spot this until the end credits unless you really know this story well and know what he looks like.Overall this is an OK film that is interesting and passable. However it is a little annoying because it could have been a lot better (and thus impacting) if it had had a better script, better characters, more interesting direction and had been edited to be a bit tighter. The film goes for easy emotional shots and it relies on the involvement of the actual true story to keep the audience engaged; luckily for it's sake the story is interesting and involving enough to be worth seeing even in this half-cooked effort.

Strong performances from Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Whoopi Goldberg, Craig T. Nelson, Bill Smitrovich and William H. Macy makes "Ghosts Of Mississippi" one of the best movies I have seen. "Ghosts Of Mississippi" deserved an oscar in every single category that one can be given in because it was that good.I never knew the story of Medgar Evers before I saw this film; but, I learned a lot through watching the film. I hope everyone has the same experience and opportunity I had when I saw this movie because it is one history lesson that should be seen rather than read in history books or newspaper archives. I was truly honored to watch this film. There are several reasons this film is a success; one of them are the performances. "Ghosts Of Mississippi" is each actors best film of their career bar none. Alec Baldwin brings intensity, aggressiveness and never say die attitude to his role as Bobby DeLaughter. Whoopi Goldberg stars as Myrlie Evers, widow of Medgar Evers, who with relentless pursuit of justice re-opens this murder case. Finally, James Woods stars as Byron De La Beckwith, the defendant, who with great conviction and sincerity brings the essence of the real person to the surface. As great as Baldwin and Woods are in this they do not hold a candle to Goldberg who gives not only the best performance in the film, year but I dare say the best performance of the decade of the 90's. The second reason why this film remains on my short list of best films are the messages that brought up. For example, equality for all and the fact that any discrimination will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Another message I got from this film was under no circumstances should anybody underestimate the power of tenacity because it will make dreams come true every time. This film was thought-provoking, brilliant and compelling. In addition, "Ghosts Of Mississippi" will move you to tears, put a smile on your face and anger you because these are the emotions I felt watching this movie. Combined with the excellent ensemble performances, brilliant script and messages this film had "Ghosts Of Mississippi" is one film you can't miss. Two thumbs way up.

THIS FILM IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Not only was the real Myrlie Evers consulted while making the film, two of her and Medgar's sons were actually in the film, playing themselves. Benny Bennett also played himself.It was based on a actual (although little known) event in American history, and shows how there are still conflicts over civil rights today. We also learn that there are still some people in the Southern U.S. that are opposed to laws that have been in place for over 35 years.So while watching this you shouldn't think "the story is cliche" or "the acting was good, but predictable," you should be thinking that this actually happened, and reflecting on how far we've come as a society, and how far we still need to go.