Ghosts of Mississippi
Ghosts of Mississippi ★★ Ghosts from the Past 1996 (PG-13)
Director Reiner attempts to tell the story of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, murdered in 1963, and the three trials of Byron De la Beckwith (Woods), who was finally convicted (after two hung juries) in 1994. Unfortunately, he filters the story through the eyes of white assistant D.A. Bobby De Laughter (Baldwin) while ignoring Evers' accomplishments almost completely. Woods chews up the scenery as the wily old racist, bringing perhaps a little too much glee into a portrait of true evil. Goldberg sleepwalks through her role as Evers' widow, Myrlie; Evers' sons, Darrell and Van, play themselves; daughter Reena plays a juror while her character is played by Yolanda King, the daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Filmed on location in Jackson, Mississippi. 123m/C VHS, DVD . Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, Craig T. Nelson, Wayne Rogers, William H. Macy, Michael O'Keefe, Yolanda King, Susanna Thompson, Lucas Black, James Pickens Jr., Virginia Madsen, Bill Cobbs, Alexa Vega, Jerry Levine, Bill Smitrovich, Terry O'Quinn, Rex Linn, Richard Riehle, Bonnie Bartlett, Diane Ladd, Andy Romano, Rance Howard, Margo Mar tindale; D: Rob Reiner; W: Lewis Colick; C: John Seale; M: Marc Shaiman.