Review of Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) by Josh F — 22 Mar 2009

Empowering true story of the murder of a civil rights leader. When I say it's about a murder, everyone jumps to the conclusion that it's a who done it type of movie. Ghosts of Mississippi is not like that at all. You know who who did it and how he did it in the first five minutes. The story here follows an attorney trying convict the murderer. Here's the kicker, it's been 30 years since the murder. Here's another one, it's in Mississippi who still to this day is extremely racist.

The acting is top notch with an exceptional performance by James Woods. He plays the racist man who gunned down the civil rights leader. He made the character so believable as well as make you truly hate this scumbag. For every horrible man, there has to be a perfect soul to bring him down. Alec Baldwin is that person. He's pretty typical guy, family man, father, and soft-talking. Baldwin didn't blow me away by his performance but it's good. Whoopi Goldberg was also pretty typical. She's the strong mother of 3 who just wants justice to be served.

The suspense of this movie pretty much comes from the final courtroom battle. You've got Baldwin displaying all his evidence while Woods just laughs as if he's not even in court.

Ghosts of Mississippi is a movie I had to watch for U.S. History. It surprised me immensely by presenting an empowering true story of good vs. evil. The only reason it doesn't get a higher rating is it didn't absolutely blow me away. Still worth seeking out and watching.