An Ugly Black Buzzard

Jul 7, 2000 - © Virginia Marin

Two gentlemen were standing at a window discussing the weather. One of them remarked at the clarity of the blue sky. The other said, "But look at that ugly black buzzard." Although there are several variations to this little tale, storytelling is storytelling and what one sees in any story is in the eye of the beholder. But Southern storytelling--well, it is just--well, it's different. Consider, for example, the TV movie version of John Berendt's tale of Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil...

    This is an interesting tale told through the eyes of a carpetbagger. It is based on an actual 1981-82 murder trial in Savannah, Georgia. The plot. Morality. The question. Is morality relative or is it an absolute? The film is about the clash of good and evil in one man's life, Jim Williams, whose handsome, but stereotype gay character is protrayed by Kevin Spacey.

    It is also about the struggle between perceived right and wrong in the life of another--the carpetbagger, played by John Cusack, who made an unheard of movie-only entry into Savannah's elite and blue-blood society of old money, except for Jim's. Jim's was new money. From the film's beginning, John and Jim attempt to come to terms with their gold and brass values but the gulf is too great, namely, the carpetbagger's personal attitude toward Jim's lover which was never developed in the film, but always implied.

    This is a long movie described by reviewers with a non-Southern bent as being a slow and dull three hours. I found it to be quite delightful with its implied farcical theatrics, or should I say Southern eccentricities--the absurd and ridiculous actions of the little man with flies tied to strings which were afixed to his jacket so that there was a continuous buzzing around his head; a man who daily walked an imaginary dog, the leash taunt before him as he meandered down the street in the style of Hercule Poirot; a Black debutante ball; Lady Chablis, who was not a lady at all but rather a transvestite, without whom, according to professional critics, the movie would have flopped; and my favorite--Minerva, played by Irma P. Hall, a voodoo priestess who was typical of a prophetess as well as a New York (or California) bag lady. She was delightful!

    Betrayal, lust, sex, denial, disillusionment, voodoo, and a questionable murder followed by a Perry Mason-type trial that investigates the thin gray line that exists between good and evil. Finally, in this exaggerated comedy, directed by Clint Eastwood, which was not meant to be a comedy, the power of voodoo becomes the ultimate means of punishment--and just rewards.

    The copyright of the article An Ugly Black Buzzard in Folklore is owned by Virginia Marin. Permission to republish An Ugly Black Buzzard in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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