Review of Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

Directed by Rob Reiner, this film came about through research producer Frederick Zollo had done for Mississippi Burning (1988), the case depicted in this film was reopened, and after the verdict, Zollo went about putting a film together, and Reiner was brought in as director, he'd turned down Mississippi Burning, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

It's a good potboiler with some good performances. In 1963, Medgar Evers (James Pickens, Jr.) was shot dead outside his house, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) was suspected of murdered, and tried twice, however, both verdicts resulted in hung juries.

In 1989, Assistant District Attorney Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) and Evers' widow Myrlie (Whoopi Goldberg) decide to try and bring De La Beckwith to trail again, even though most of the evidence from the original trial has vanished and most of the original witnesses have either moved away or died.

But, DeLaughter won't give in, and reopening this old case reopens a lot of old wounds for some. It's a powerful drama, quite underrated as well. Woods nearly steals the film in very good and convincing old man make-up, while Goldberg shows a good, powerful side she's seldom explored on film.

Although not as shocking as Mississippi Burning, it shows that racism has no place in this world.