I was curious for years about GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI because of the subject and also its colorful cast. 8 months ago I finally saw it and while I found it below my expectations, I still kinda liked it.
It begins with white suprematists Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) that one night shoots black civil rights activist Medgar Evers in front of his wife and kids. Byron has been tried twice and twice found not guilty. Evers' widow Myrlie (Whoopie Goldberg) wants to bring Byron to justice and enlists the help of district attorney Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) and Bobby accepts not knowing that this would cause him some troubles including having his family targeted by the Ku Klux Klan. After lots of tribulations Bobby in 1994 will manage to make Byron sentenced to life imprisonment and Myrlie will rejoin the crowd outside the courthouse that supported her in her fight for justice.
The cast is full of various big names (Baldwin, Goldberg, Woods, William Macy, Bill Cobbs, Virginia Madsen, Craig T. Nelson, Lucas Black and Brock Peters) that give their best with the material given. I liked the idea for the plot because despite this is a movie from 1996 the subject is still relevant today. My problems are that at times the movie looked a bit too long and it could have benefited from some trimming, and the pace looked a bit dead in a few points. But as it is, it's a good movie but not a masterpiece.
It begins with white suprematists Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) that one night shoots black civil rights activist Medgar Evers in front of his wife and kids. Byron has been tried twice and twice found not guilty. Evers' widow Myrlie (Whoopie Goldberg) wants to bring Byron to justice and enlists the help of district attorney Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) and Bobby accepts not knowing that this would cause him some troubles including having his family targeted by the Ku Klux Klan. After lots of tribulations Bobby in 1994 will manage to make Byron sentenced to life imprisonment and Myrlie will rejoin the crowd outside the courthouse that supported her in her fight for justice.
The cast is full of various big names (Baldwin, Goldberg, Woods, William Macy, Bill Cobbs, Virginia Madsen, Craig T. Nelson, Lucas Black and Brock Peters) that give their best with the material given. I liked the idea for the plot because despite this is a movie from 1996 the subject is still relevant today. My problems are that at times the movie looked a bit too long and it could have benefited from some trimming, and the pace looked a bit dead in a few points. But as it is, it's a good movie but not a masterpiece.