Ghosts of Mississippi

I went to see Ghosts of Mississippi at the Cineplex Odeon at 5100 Wisconsin Ave. in D.C. The theater is an old-timey theater with those cushy red velvet seats that swallow the moviegoer. I think it makes the film seem even better. Ghosts of Mississippi is a tremendous film. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg as Myrlie Evers, Alec Baldwin as prosecutor Bobby de Laughter (pronounced de Lauder), and James Woods as Byron de la Beckwith. Ghosts of Mississippi tells the true story of the prosecution of Byron de la Beckwith for the murder of Civil Rights leader, Medger Evers, 30 years after the crime took place. Mr. Beckwith was set free after two all-White, all-male Mississippi juries in the 60s failed to reach a verdict. When evidence surfaced that a local political commission tampered with the jury composition, Medger's wife succeeds in getting the Jackson, MS District Attorney's office to reopen the investigation.

Director Rob Reiner captures the real flavor of bigotry that exists in Mississippi and the entire country. The film has a docudrama feel starting from the opening credits appearing against a backdrop of newsreel footage from the 60s Civil Rights movement. Reiner's direction (lots of shots of the Mississippi delta) also reminds me of the literature of William Faulkner. You get a real sense of the duality of the South: the lushness barely covering the rotting core.

Even under all that pancake makeup, James Woods is phenomenal as the repugnant Beckwith. He nails Beckwith's smarmy redneck racist persona with skin-crawling exactness. Whoopi Goldberg's intensity burns a hole in the screen. In her role as Myrlie Evers, she says more with her eyes than anything else. Whoopi captures the strength, courage and dignity of the real Myrlie Evers. Alec Baldwin also deserves kudos for his earnest, if a bit dull, performance.

Ghosts of Mississippi does have its flaws. The film's focus is too skewed towards the life of Bobby de Laughter. The film loses some of its power by spending so much time on de Laughter and his public and private struggles while ignoring the parts of him that merit deeper exploration. For instance, I wanted to know why de Laughter seemed so much more enlightened about race relations than his bigoted parents, in-laws, and first wife. And why is de Laughter so hot to take this case? Baldwin's character stresses, and I think it's overdone and inadequate, that de Laughter is 37, the same age as Medger when he died, and that he has three small children, also the same as the slain civil rights leader.

Plus, Reiner does not give the audience enough details on why Myrlie was so devoted to her husband - why did she continue her fight for justice for 30 years? How did the surviving Evers family members wind up in Oregon? I was also very curious about exactly what was Medger's role in the Civil Rights Movement. Let's face it: how many audience members who were not alive or children at the time know what Medger did. It was 30 years ago. What was his relationship with the movement and the other major players. I'm ashamed to say that I am not as familiar with Medger as I am about two other great civil rights leaders, MLK and Malcolm X. I wanted more history (Believe it or not!). In my opinion, the makers of Ghosts of Mississippi missed a great opportunity to educate the audience about Medger Evers.

My final criticism is that the movie was about 20 to 25 minutes too long. There were just too many trips into the backwoods of Mississippi or driving around in the dark Mississippi night to recover evidence for the retrial.

On a philosophical note, the retrial of Byron de la Beckwith shows both how far and how little America has come in healing the racial wounds that continue to divide our country. De Laughter doubts himself at times and questions why he pursues this case, AI have no black friends, I don't socialize with black people, my kids don't have really black friends. We're better off being separate. Another character tells him that it is a first step. But, as I so often wonder, why do we think that's enough, when so few take the second.