In the Electric Mist: Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Levon Helm, Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Sarsgaard, Bertrand Tavernier: Movies & TV
In the Electric Mist: Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Levon Helm, Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Sarsgaard, Bertrand Tavernier: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
Based on the book series by James Lee Burke, In the Electric Mist tackles murder, mobsters, Hollywood drama… and apparitions of long-dead confederate soldiers. The film begins with Detective Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) investigating the murder of a young woman in his small parish town while dealing with the influx of irresponsible Hollywood star Elrod Sykes (Peter Sarsgaard). While filming a civil war epic, Elrod discovers the remains of a man killed decades earlier, a crime Dave himself witnessed but did not report. Adding to the intrigue is the appearance of ghosts from a forgotten era: confederate soldiers lead by Gen. John Bell Hood. Offering advice and direction to Dave, the specter of Hood may seem disjointed, but in Cajun country, full of real and imagined ghosts, it’s not hard to imagine. As more murders occur and secrets from the past are brought to light, will Dave succeed in stopping a vicious killer? Jones delivers a believable portrayal of a tortured, redemptive officer who must right the wrongs of the past and the present. Adding to the authenticity and beauty of this Cajun tale, five-time Grammy Award winner Buddy Guy appears and performs in the film. One final mystery still remains: will we see more of Dave Robicheaux, or will more adaptations be confined to the reader’s imagination? — Lesley Puhrmann
Stills from In the Electric Mist (Click for larger image)
Product Description
Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones leads an all-star cast in this psychological thriller based on the bestselling novel by James Lee Burke.
While on an investigation into a series of grisly murders, veteran detective Dave Robicheaux (Jones) navigates his way through the Louisiana bayou and the dark, sultry world of New Orleans mobster "Baby Feet" Balboni (John Goodman). Layers of corruption and long-dead secrets reawaken grudges and a lethal alliance A tangled web of killings, past and present, converges in a shocking showdown with stakes that become deeply personal to Robicheaux and his family. Featuring music from five-time GRAMMY Award-winner Buddy Guy, this film takes you deep into Cajun country’s hidden worlds. *Best Supporting Actor: The Fugitive, 1993
A Must-See for Robicheaux Fans,
By Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) -
This is the second film adaptation of one of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series, the first being “Heaven’s Prisoners” with Alec Baldwin horribly miscast as Robicheaux.
In this film, Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as Robicheaux, capturing all the nuance of the literary character: the alcoholic obsessions, the need to impose justice, his essential toughness and goodness.
This is a pretty faithful adaptation of the novel, and captures the flavor of the books, as well as the Louisiana settings. In all honesty, this was almost exactly how I’d pictured it from reading the books.
But a caveat: if you haven’t read the books, you’re probably not going to enjoy this movie, which is probably why in the USA it was released directly to DVD. Burke’s novels are very introspective, which makes for interesting literature, but slow movies. There’s plenty of drama, with several murders, corruption, and depravity to spare. But the books - and this movie - are at their hearts character studies of the Robicheaux character. This is more akin to “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” than “Dirty Harry”.
I loved it; your mileage may vary.
Well Casted but only for those who have read the books,
By Shogun Len “tokieyasu” (old bethpage, new york USA) -
I am a huge fan of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux books. I have read most of them and most of them have been top notch. Unlike most series, Burke’s actually gets better and better and just when you think its peaked, he writes something better.
Having read so many of the books, I always pictured either Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin (in his younger, lighter days) and Tommy Lee Jones as Dave. 2/3 predictions have come true. Tommy Lee Jones is the perfect David Robicheaux, this character was meant for him to play.
In the Electric Mist is one of the best books in the series, so how come with a great book and great casting the movie is only ok?
The problem is the movie itself is very very inside. The screen writers did too good a job adapting the story from the book. Remember the book is a middle book of a very long running series. As a fan and reader of the series, I knew who everyone was and how they got there. The problem for the mass audience will be that they will have no idea who half the people are and the film does not really give any answers.
This unfortunately will be a film liked by those who have read the books, and not fully understood by those who have not.
Twice filmakers have well casted and made well intentioned adaptations of the books, and twice they have not come through as they should have.
Not the Director’s Cut but Still Very Entertaining,
By Cubist (United States) -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)
In the Electric Mist marks legendary French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier’s first North American-made motion picture and, based on the troubles he encountered while making it, perhaps his last. Tavernier, a big fan of American crime fiction (he previously adapted Jim Thompson’s Pop. 1280 into Coup de Torchon - Criterion Collection), jumped at the chance to bring James Lee Burke’s bestselling novel In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead to the big screen. However, reports surfaced that Tavernier and the film’s star, Tommy Lee Jones, did not get along, and the producers were not happy with the director’s version. As a result, the version released on DVD in North America is the producers’ cut and not Tavernier’s.
Tavernier does an excellent job capturing the local color of the area in the scenes where protagonist Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) canvases the locals. The entire film was shot on location and this only enhances the authenticity of the story’s setting which is rich in atmosphere - also helped by the liberal use of blues and zydeco music. The cinematography has a textured quality to it that really brings out the lushness of the region.
The cast is outstanding with Tommy Lee Jones doing his patented gruff yet savvy lawman, Peter Sarsgaard portraying a boozy actor, and John Goodman as a scene-stealing mobster with a genial facade that barely masks a threatening demeanor. The cast is rounded out by fascinating veteran character actors like Mary Steenburgen, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Ned Beatty.
Despite the production and post-production problems that plagued the film, this version is engaging and entertaining but one still wonders what Tavernier’s original cut is like.
Sadly, the only special features are a theatrical trailer but considering the bad blood between director and the producers this is hardly suprising.
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