In the Electric Mist (2009) User Reviews (122)

Atmospheric, Moody Drama with Crime as Only Part of Context

[critic-fanspot · 7/10 · 8 March 2009]

Filled with bayou atmosphere, the film follows Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux as he sorts through two cases that tie together past and present, history and future, black and white, rich and poor. The cultural tension that permeates the movie creates the backdrop for a psychological crime drama whose suspense comes primarily from the personal conflict of Robicheaux. The crime action itself serves more to buffet the lead character on his internal journey than to create an action-heavy thrill-ride.

In the Electric Mist is rich in atmosphere, and that is perhaps its strongest point. All aspects of the film-making process come together to drive home the feeling of the Lousiana bayou, from the detailed sets to the slow pace to the contrast between the simmering intensity of the true Louisiana folks with the outlandish extroversion of the outsiders and the locals who have been won over by Hollywood culture. It is a movie best experienced with your full attention.

There is a strong sense of suspense in the film, but it is delivered through tragedy and the search for resolution, not high action. While Tommy Lee Jones delivers the sort of performance one might expect and there are certainly plenty of thriller mainstay elements, this is not an action piece, an in intrigue, or a intricate mystery. If you cannot get invested in the tension of a complicated shades-of-grey lead character and his search for answers to questions that may not e fully expressed, the suspense will likely escape you and you will be left with a slow movie with an unsurprising plot. And if you cannot get absorbed into the play of contrasts and dialectics within the fabric of the rural Louisiana cultural fabric, you probably find the message trite, the ending too neat, and some of the performances (e.g., John Goodman as Baby Feet Balboni) as over-the-top and distracting. But if you can allow yourself to experience the film through Jones' Robicheaux, you will find yourself sharing his internal conflict, delighting in bright spots of energy like Alana Locke's Alafair, and clinging to a misty hope for resolution.

a thriller in the swamps

[dromasca · 7/10 · 3 August 2013]

Some films deserve a better fate. This is in my opinion the case with 'In the Electric Mist' which is totally unknown to most of the cinema fans because it seems to not having been released in cinema theaters in the US. This is a very hard to understand decision, as this is a much better than the average detective movies, better than many other similar films released around that date, it's well acted, beautifully filmed, directed by a well-known French director (Bertrand Tavernier) and with supreme star Tommy Lee Jones as lead actor. What do I know about the art of film distribution, though? Probably not too much.

The story is set in the swamps of Louisiana and features detective David Robicheaux which some may remember as having been played by Alec Baldwin in Heaven's Prisoner more than a decade before this film was made (the character is inspired by the same series of novels). The atmosphere of the Cajun country with its fogs and smells, legends and collection of unique characters makes for a good background for mysteries and hidden secrets and Tavernier makes a good use of it in a way that predicts Beasts of the Southern Wild. Nobody is surprised when generals and soldiers from the Civil War fought more than a century before show up from behind the fogs, and the phantoms of the older conflicts of race and class mix with the personal daemons the heroes have to face.

Watching Tommy Lee Jones playing the justice-driven detective (although his means are not always really orthodox) is always a pleasure, and to a large extent the film relies on him. He is helped by an excellent supporting cast, with John Goodman featuring as one of the lead bad guys, and Mary Steenburgen as the classy wife of Robicheaux. While the script does not really close perfectly every corner of the story, there is cursive story telling in the style of the big detective American novels of the 40s, and the heroes have the same naive faith that the good cause of justice is worth risking everything to have it prevail. Bertrand Tavernier has filmed with European lens a very American story in a very American landscape, and despite the relative low-key ending (maybe the weak part of the movie) it's a good film to look for and watch.

Needs Tweaking

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 10 March 2022]

I've been following IMDb's lead lately and it hasn't been pretty. They've recommended a series of Tommy Lee Jones (TLJ) movies that I've watched with mixed reviews. "In the Electric Mist" (IEM) is the third TLJ movie after "The Missing" and "The Three Burials of Malquiades Estrada."

IEM takes place in post-Katrina Louisiana in and around the area of Iberia Parish. It begins with Det. Dave Robicheaux (TLJ) investigating the murder of a young lady named Cherry LeBlanc. She was a "working" girl found in the Louisiana swamps badly mutilated. We get some retro gumshoe movie narration from Dave and we'd get narration from him scattered throughout the movie.

IEM was a standard murder mystery. I can watch standard murder mysteries all day even if they're as basic as this one. This movie was as basic and unimaginative as they get. With that as a baseline, any hiccups were going to make the movie a dud, and it had a few failures which knocked it down a peg or two.

Failure #1: Dave seemed to be the smartest person in all of Louisiana, or at least the smartest in his neck of the woods. There were two set-ups that could've been easily proved, yet the police there were too dumb to see it. The first set-up is when someone set-up Dave to make it seem as though he murdered an unarmed girl named Angel. A few cursory questions would've made it clear that he didn't kill her. The second set-up was someone making it seem as though his friend Lou Girard (Pruitt Taylor Vince) killed himself. Again, it wouldn't have taken much policing at all to find out he was murdered.

Failure #2: Dave morphed into an extra-judicial tough cop. Instead of stakeouts, questioning, and standard police work, he graduated to beating people up to get the answers he wanted. That type of "policing" may have been a cool thing on screen in the 90's, but I'm tired of seeing it. First he beat up a pimp in a train station for answers, then he beat up the local mobster, Julie "Baby Feet" Balboni (John Goodman), for answers. I would've forgiven beating up Balboni because Dave's daughter was being held captive somewhere and Balboni could provide answers, but because he'd already established himself as the extra-judicial tough cop by this time, I saw this as more of him abusing his powers of the badge. Balboni was a mobster not a monster, he probably would've given Robicheaux the info he wanted to help him get his daughter, but Dave had been itching to bust up Balboni from the beginning.

Failure #3: The kidnapped-girl-for-trade routine. When Dave finally closed in on the killer, Murphy Doucet (Bernard Hocke), Doucet kidnapped Dave's daughter, Alafair (Alana Locke), and demanded the incriminating evidence in exchange for the girl. This was yet another 90's trope: trading a wife, daughter, or girlfriend for X. Those trades NEVER go the way they're supposed to and they are overused.

I think IEM was nothing more than a project to infuse money into post-Katrina Louisiana--which isn't a bad thing. The movie had credible names in it such as TLJ, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ned Beatty, Kelly MacDonald, and Mary Steenburgen, but it takes more than credible names to make a credible movie. A few updates and tweaks to this and it would've been a respectable film.

Free with Amazon Prime.

That Authentic Cajun Atmosphere

[Lechuguilla · 15 May 2009]

A no-nonsense cop named "Robicheaux" (pronounced Roba-shaw, and well played by Tommy Lee Jones) is on a case involving the murders of several local prostitutes. At the same time, Robicheaux is haunted by a decades-old killing of a Black man whose remains are found in a swamp by a member of a film crew shooting a movie. So the twin questions are ... who is responsible for the murders of the prostitutes, and is there a link between these murders and the long-ago killing of the Black man?

Set in modern day South Louisiana, near New Orleans, "In The Electric Mist" absolutely drips with authentic Cajun atmosphere. The place names, the rustic look of old frame houses, the backwater bayous with lush vegetation, those wonderful Louisiana accents, the outdoor barbecue at a plantation house ... You feel like you're really there, in that place. It's the best element of the film, by far.

The film's casting and acting are quite good. And the music is terrific. At the end credits the song played is the haunting "La Terre Tremblante", with its mystical-Blues sound and French lyrics. The song is straight out of Cajun country, and it is mesmerizing.

Unfortunately, the film's plot is muddled. Editing is terrible. And the film's ending is very unsatisfying. My understanding is that the film went through some serious post-production issues, the most significant being the deletion of a number of scenes. These deletions may account for plot problems associated with choppy flow and lack of clarity.

Even so, "In The Electric Mist" is still worth watching, not so much for the story or plot as for the evocative Cajun atmosphere and that terrific music.

Make sure you watch the European cut

[ekrats4 · 6/10 · 31 July 2010]

Most of you have probably never heard of Tavernier, which is a shame as he has at least two masterpieces under his belt. The American DVD release is not only cut by 15 minutes, it is also drastically different in structure and tone. Think Leone's American cut of Once Upon a time In America. You didn't like that, did you? Well, to be honest neither of the films are perfect, but the American DVD is UNWATCHABLE. At least the director's cut is the way Tavernier preferred; and actually a middling thriller that is worthy of giving a spin. Gone is the made for TV pacing and ludicrous ending, and while it's not his best work, it will probably entertain you enough.

The acting is serviceable in both versions, but the lack of a back story (and thus motivation) makes some of the character actions seem out of place and silly.

I happen to like Heaven's Prisoners a lot more than anyone has any right to, and I think Tommy Lee Jones is a very good replacement for Baldwin. Gone is the optimistic charm of old Dave, hello new Dave that is bitter by what life has shown him. But a lot of that is lost in the American DVD.

I'm gonna skate and your gonna help me!

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 7 January 2009]

***SPOILERS*** After some ten years after he first appeared on the screen back in 1996 in "Heaven's Prisoner" recovering alcoholic lawman Officer Dave Robicheaux, Tommy Lee Jones, gets on an unsolved murder case that he himself witnessed back in 1965 when he was just 17 years old.

In was back in the summer of 1965 that escaped black fugitive Dewitt Prejean, Chukwuma Onwuchekw, was gunned down in the Atchafalaya swamp by two perusing correction officers. Prejean's body was found some 43 years later when a motion picture company was making a Civil War film in and around the swamp. The person who found Prejean's remains was the star of the film actor Elrod Sykes, Peter Sarsgaard, who later had the misfortune of being stopped, while driving drunk, by Officer Robicheaux! In trying to talk Officer Robicheaux in not giving him a ticket Sykes, who was also driving with a suspended license, told him about what he found in the swamp and a light blob lit up in the lawman's head! Robicheaux witnessed Prejean's murder!

The film "The Electric Mist" has two stories interconnecting with each other in it. That includes the Pregean murder back in 1965 and a number of local hooker killings some 40 years later in the same general area; The Iberian Perish deep in the Louisiana Bayous. What connects these two crimes is that the person, or persons, responsible for them have something to do with the Civil War movie that's being made there in the almost impassable Atchafalaya Swamp!

The film leaves a lot of things up in the air in what's, and who's, behind the serial murders and even when it's over we never really know who the killer is. Officer Robicheaux's brutal and illegal methods in tracking down the elusive killer makes him anything but likable to the audience. The killer himself is always a step ahead of Robicheaux and even implicates the lawman as well as his FBI partner Agent Rosie Gomez,Justina Machado,in having them do his dirty work for him. We also have Officer Robicheaux get help in solving the hooker killings from an unexpected source! Civil War Confederate General John Bell Hood, Levon Holm. It was when Robicheaux got smashed by someone in a local bar slipping him a Mickey Finn, in his glass of Doctor Pepper, that he was able to conjure up the long dead general who gave him the clues to solve the murders.

The reformed and elderly, he's almost 60 years old in the movie, alcoholic lawman Robicheaux was a bit unbelievable in his being able to take on and beat silly people twice as big and half his age in the film. Even so Robicheaux's brutal tactics didn't bring in any results in having a number of key witness to the hooker murders end up dead because of them. As for the 43 year old mystery of who murdered Dewitt Prejean the film, including Robicheaux and those who murdered him, seemed to have almost completely forgot about it!

Solid but misses something

[paul2001sw-1 · 7/10 · 30 April 2015]

French director Betrand Tavernier usually makes (excellent) films in his own language; but 'In The Electric Mist' is set in deepest Lousiana, and not the Cajun-speaking part either. It's a solid police procedural, but it never rises to the heights of Tavernier's greatest work: one by one, the bodies mount up, strangely without causing anyone but the hero exceptional concern, while the overall portrait of the deep south is somewhat clichéd, a racist place (although the real villains are more misanthropist than particularly racist) but one where the ghost of a confederate general is somehow also a symbol of honour and decency. Tommy Lee Jones puts in a decent turn in the lead role, and I also liked the soundtrack (though it sounded more like mountain than bayou music to me). It's a watchable film, but not one that takes its viewer in any surprising directions.

It works

[RNQ · 7/10 · 28 August 2010]

I've just seen the 117 minute version, and it works. People seeing this on DVD should check that they have this longer version. The complaint is that the movie is incoherent, but in fact as well as crime movies do; all layers are brought pretty well together. The mousetrap snaps. Meanwhile, beyond a noir of earlier days, there is an attempt to deal with crimes both old and fresh, and a dramatization of a detective's inner debate through his projection of a Confederate Army general. And some of his troops--there is froth in details, as there is with the manner and antics of "Baby Feet" (John Goodman) and even his automobile. Froth in excess is that a detective, even if he is played by Tommy Lee Jones, should smash the faces of persons he is interrogating. For planted evidence, see the last scenes. There is what movie rating calls "language," all for the better.

a jumbled mess

[HandsomeBen · 4/10 · 29 October 2020]

This was very promising in the first 30ish minutes, 2 women are found dead, and one black mans's body is found. The black man died decades prior, and the women were hookers that died recently. Tommy Lee is on a mission to find who is responsible.

The movie feels so jumbled because we're dealing with two different cases at the same time, and only one of them gets solved. The hookers end up being more of an afterthought. There are cases that end up cold, but they feel completely forgotten when the credits roll. It's supposed to be a happily ever after ending, and I'm wait what happened with the women? What happened with the body placed in the car?

The story is too convoluted and I was left confused.

Death down along the bayou.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 24 March 2015]

Based on a bestselling novel by James Lee Burk, this psychological thriller features secrets to tell and crimes to unravel. Veteran detective Dave Robicheaux(Tommy Lee Jones)is investigating a series of brutal murders, mostly prostitutes. The New Iberia native winds through the Louisiana bayou and uncovers almost forgotten secrets and stirs up old grudges as he navigates a dark and sultry world of New Orleans mobster Baby Feet Balboni(John Goodman). This investigation gets complicated and ruthless as it becomes personal to the detective's family. You just never know what the world really means until you get down to New Orleans.

A very versatile all-star cast featuring: Peter Sarsgaard, Ned Beatty, Mary Steenburgen, Mary Macdonald, James Gammonn Levon Helm and Justina Machado.

Huge disappointment!! Don't go!

[maxenceafaas · 2/10 · 16 February 2009]

I have seen this movie last week during the Berlin Film Festival and had medium-high expectations. - The director is Bertrand Tavernier and I was familiar with some of his previous work in French cinema. I actually enjoyed some of his earlier movies. -The cast: Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgard, Mary Steenburgen... I was looking forward to see all this talent on screen. -I wasn't familiar with the book it's based upon and I hadn't read anything about the movie beforehand but I was told that it was an investigation movie set in the Deep South (we've seen a lot of those in the past, maybe this one's gonna be as good as the others...)

2 hours later, the end titles appear: THANK GOD IT WAS OVER!!!! - The plot is beyond comprehension. If you've read the book, you have a significant advantage. There were too many minor characters and there were a lot of useless plot arcs. We didn't understand a thing! - The accents. My God! Tommy Lee Jones' accent is decent but I still have nightmares from Mary Steenburgen's Cajun-French singing... - Poor casting in my opinion. I can't believe old man Tommy Lee Jones can beat the crap out of a linebacker-built goon... And I'm not afraid of John Goodman. - Who were these people?!? We barely understand who all these characters are and what they do. There's a bait shop? Tommy Lee Jones has a girl from Guatemala? Blörg! - The comedic attempts were pathetic. The funniest thing about the movie was probably its "action" and "suspense" scenes. They were horrible. No thrills. Bad acting (Can Tommy Lee Jones make different faces or is he like Derek Zoolander?)... - And then there's the sci-fi stuff. No spoilers but it gets ridiculously and annoyingly weird.

I usually don't write any comments on IMDb but I thought the movie was so bad and disappointing that I felt compelled to share my opinion. But that's just me...

Tommy Lee nails the part

[warren-ripley · 8/10 · 8 March 2009]

Tommy Lee Jones has either read Burke's books or he is really that good. Unlike Alec Baldwin's Robicheaux in "Heaven's Prisoners" Jones has the complex nature of Robicheaux's personality down. Jones can deliver on the character's contrasting moods -- the sensitivity of his care for others versus the fire of his smoldering anger. Good flick. No stupid CGI tricks, no political correctness, just a good old fashioned crime mystery with a very riveting main character. There are some unresolved elements regarding the Goodman and Beatty parts but the dogged pursuit of the criminal element by Jones is worth the price of admission. I've read all of Burke's books and this is as close as anyone is going to get to myriad aspects of Dave Robicheaux's tortured soul. Burke fans disappointed by "Heaven's Prisoners" should see this one.

Bertrand Tavernier just can't find the local flavor

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 20 October 2013]

Lt. Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) is investigating a dead body found by movie stars Elrod Sykes (Peter Sarsgaard) and his girlfriend Kelly Drummond (Kelly Macdonald). They're filming a Civil War film. Robicheaux is reminded of a black man he saw murdered as a teen.

There are a lot of great actors trying to play southern. Director Bertrand Tavernier just doesn't have the skills to bring an intensity to the movie. He also doesn't have the touch to bring out the local flavors. That might be all the big Hollywood actors, and the unimaginative locations. The closest he gets is casting Buddy Guy and having him play some music. The story is a slow prodding march. The clues aren't illuminating to solve the murder mystery. The only good thing here is watching Tommy Lee Jones in action. At the end of the movie, I wasn't even sure who they're after.

In The Valley of Elah Part 2

[Anonymous_Maxine · 5/10 · 20 April 2009]

Remember that movie In The Valley of Elah? It was the movie that Tommy Lee Jones starred in before this one. Yeah, this is exactly the same movie. I've been a huge fan of Jones ever since he first came to my attention in Under Siege, but come on man, time to branch out a little bit, you know? On the other hand, In The Valley of Elah, which is just as disappointing as In the Electric Mist (but doesn't have nearly as bizarre a title), was released the same year that Jones appeared in No Country For Old Men, so I guess the man deserves some credit. But I'm still getting over The Missing and The Hunted. Yawn!

This time, Jones plays Dave Robicheaux, an alcoholic who is a regular at the bars, where he orders drinks that he never drinks. He's a detective in the deep south, and one day he spots an Italian sports car speeding through the sleepy streets of their town. When he pulls it over, he finds it's being driven by Elrod Sykes (Peter Saarsgard), a local boy who has become a movie star but is now drag racing through his town drunk out of his mind. Dave sidesteps the expected bribes and goes to run him in like he should, but changes his mind when Sykes tells him he knows where a dead body is.

Before you go thinking about Stand By Me, the most famous "I know where there's a dead body" movie ever made, this one goes in a completely different direction. The body is the result of a decades-old hate crime, where a bunch of racists had chained a black man and then shot him while he ran through the swamps for his life. Dave, a 17-year-old boy at the time, actually witnessed the crime from across the swamp but never figured out who the killers were. Now, the location of the body has been revealed and it has become his life's mission to bring the killers to justice.

Complicating the movie more than necessary is a simultaneous investigation that Dave is running about the murder of a blonde prostitute and, worst of all, some truly bizarre run-ins with the Civil War generals out in the woods. There is suggestion that it is just a local group of dedicated fanatics in the middle of a Civil War re-enactment, but at times it seems more like an LSD flashback than anything else.

Ultimately the movie is nothing but a tedious wait to see some racist dirtbags get what they deserve for a vicious hate crime that happened decades earlier. There is a brief approach of the difficult subject of forgiving someone for a past crime when they have made genuine change, although the change portrayed in the movie is not genuine so the idea is dropped pretty quick. There is always a feeling that the movie is about to take off but it just never does, and when the end credits start to roll there's a distinct feeling that you may have just wasted a bunch of time.

I should mention that the movie is based on a book called "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead," which I haven't read, and I understand that some fans of the book are pretty impressed with the film adaptation, so there may be something more to be said about the movie than I give it credit for here. But as an unprepared moviegoer, there definitely seems to be something missing here. None of the performances are disappointing and the location where the movie was shot is undeniably beautiful, but it just seemed to me that nothing materialized along the way

Rich Atmosphere, Strong Cast, Excellent Music But Poor Story

[Chrysanthepop · 7 April 2011]

'In The Electric Mist' is a murder mystery based on James Lee Burke's novel. Set in Louisiana, a no-nonsense copper Robicheaux investigates the murders of two prostitutes and an ancient murder of a black man. He crosses paths with some angry people and, consequently his life is at risk. The rich atmosphere, sets, presentation of culture and interactions between the characters look very real. Director Bertrand Tavernier really has captured the essence of the place. The cinematography is remarkable and the mesmerizing soundtrack is exceptional. The casting is solid. There is great chemistry between all actors. Tommy Lee Jones delivers is exceptional as Robicheaux. He is effectively supported by fine actors like Mary Steenburgen, Justina Machado, Kelly MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard, John Goodman and Pruitt Taylor Vince. The story is halfbaked and somewhat of a mess as it's very inconsistent and the conclusion is unsatisfactory. At times, it feels patchy. The editing is quite poor and the pacing is very slow. I'd still say it's worth seeing for the authentic atmosphere, performances and awesome soundtrack.

I was amused and entertained, I can't say more than that

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 3 May 2009]

Tommy Lee Jones stars in a murder mystery based on a novel by James Lee Burke. Its seems the bodies of young women are beginning to turn up all over the area. Meanwhile a big movie star discovers the skeletal remains of someone out in the bayou, an event which kicks up memories for cop Jones. This rambling tale is rather compelling once it gets going. I'm not too sure what the point of all of it all was (there are too many characters with too much dirt hidden in the unnamed past), but while it was on I was amused and entertained. Bertrand Tavernier supposedly has been cutting and re-cutting the film over the past couple of years, but I think whats on screen is an okay time filler and worth a rental

Where does drunkeness end and lunacy begin? A mystery/detective story about a mentally disturbed addicted cop who cant escape from a tormented past.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 13 December 2018]

I would like to call this movie a "mystery detective". Why? Because it has got this rather unusual combination of elements of both a mystery story and a detective story in it. Definitely NOT suited for the masses. This is only suited for an arthouse audience, because this is in NO way close to any regular detective movie. It's depressing, bleak and ugly. Yet so powerful and impressive simultaneously.

The story is about an alcoholic cop (Tommy Lee Jones) investigating a murder of a young girl. So far, no surprises. What is unique though about this story is the fact that the portrait of the mental state of this addicted cop slowly becomes the main focus of this movie. The more the cop finds out new clues about who killed the girl, the more he seems to lose his mind. The cops mental breakdown is portrayed in such a slowburning, unsettling and mysterious way that the cop's downfall becomes eerily fascinating to watch.

Great acting by Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman. Terrific soundtrack by Buddy Guy among others. The editing in the theatrical version (15 minutes shorter) is not top notch though, otherwise this story would have had a higher rating. There are lots of scenes following eachother that dont blend too smoothly. Only a minor flaw though. Why complain about it then? Because the rest of the movie is so delicate and special. "Electric Mist" COULD have been really great if the editing would have had a more natural flow. Choose the director's cut, when available (117 min), it seems to have a more natural flow to it, so have I read from other Imdb reviewers.

"Electric Mist" is still an impressive portrait though about a past that cant be erased how ever hard one tries to burry it beneath years of alcohol intoxication...

Cajun Country

[lavatch · 7/10 · 27 April 2019]

"My name is Dave, and I'm an alcoholic." Those are the words of the rugged Louisiana cop Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones), as he dutifully attends his AA meetings. But it doesn't take long for the film to reveal the source of Dave's troubles: the sleazy and corrupt community in which he has sworn to uphold the law.

The film is drenched in Cajun atmosphere from the sipping of mint juleps to the bayous to the smell of the gumbo to the lure of the catfish. But the multi-generational nature of lives of crime are what circumscribe the world of Dave Robicheaux.

The narrative juggles the community's sins of the present with those of the past. One of the most interesting characters is a figment of Dave's vivid imagination: the ghost of Confederate General John Bell Hood, who appears to David in visions, giving him advice and wisdom from the sausage grinders that were the battlefields of the Civil War.

The sense of a "whodunnit" is not really captured in the film, as the colorful characters are more dominant than the suspense. Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni (John Goodman) is the local sleaze bag, knee-deep in corruption and depravity. A movie star with a drinking problem figures in the action while on a film shoot in the bayou. A various assortment of law-enforcement officials appear to be more entrenched in the dysfunctional culture than in serving and protecting the community.

Above all, it is the granite face of Dave Robicheaux that dominates the film. The main question is whether Dave's stability will hold up to get him through the two hours of this stylish motion picture.

only thing missin is the gumbo

[bcheng93 · 7/10 · 25 February 2014]

how for the life of me that this movie only rated a 6.1 on IMDb is beyond me. OK, 6.1 would mean its a pretty decent movie but this movie is better then that. the 102 minutes of this movie passed by in a breeze it seems. the movie was so good i didn't want it to end. the portrayal of the bayou and its people were dead on. tommy lee doesn't do bad acting, he puts his all into every role, occasionally he just winds up in a bad movie but it wouldn't be his fault.

for you people out there who like a good murder mystery movie, here's one of the better ones. this movie was paced perfectly, not to slow or fast, the dialogue was great and u felt like u were in the bayou. there wasn't one bad actor in this movie, everybody did a bang up job. i just wish movies like just would just get its fair shot instead of going straight to DVD. there's so many crappy movies out there that have a higher rating then this one..., what a joke. people out there if u see this review, plz...plz give this movie a chance, u wouldn't regret it.

Are these positive reviews serious?

[bpsmith-47206 · 4/10 · 5 September 2022]

I can't believe such a star studded cast would sign up for such a poorly written screenplay. I haven't read the book so I can't say as to whether it's a good read. The acting was almost as atrocious and heavy handed as the writing which was almost as dumb as the plot, complete with Levon Helm as a poorly cast confederate ghost. The whole movie skips around a disorganized story line while incorporating atrocious accents, names and characters. The directing was obviously awful as well. I wanted this to be good. It was not. It was surprisingly painful, to the point of hilarity if I wasn't so disappointed.

Atmospheric yet disconnected deep south thriller

[sickofenjoyingmyself · 6/10 · 17 May 2016]

Atmospheric is probably the best summation of this movie. There is a recognizable sense of southern atmosphere - dark and brooding, that permeates constantly throughout the story. This is also the best thing about the movie. The story line itself comes across as disconnected and disjointed. Whether this is intended or not; it doesn't work. I always felt like it was missing something. Developments seemed to happen without explanation. It almost feels watching it now that it was approaching something as weighty and hard hitting as the dark quality of True Detective's first season in moments - but it just never got there. I enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones but thought that his character should have been consistently harder and darker. John Goodman was shaping up to be quite enjoyable as a mob boss but he never got enough quality screen time or character development. Both their performances deserved better. I did enjoy the movie as a whole - I just felt a little disappointed afterwards because I feel that it could have been something great but too many moments of inconsequential sub plots cluttered and devalued it's brooding atmosphere. Also the music score was really ill fitting and I rarely ever comment on that.

Nothing new

[ger55champ · 4/10 · 22 November 2020]

Tommy Lee Jones murders this, with his accent .It is practically impossible to understand a word he says ,probably unless you are from the old U S of A yourself .Average and instantly forgettable movie for me .

Aweome Adaptation

[dfgrayb · 9/10 · 15 March 2009]

Why this movie went straight to DVD is beyond me. The mood is pure southern Gothic, the acting is terrific, and the story is complicated and sad.

The performances were dead on. TLJ hits Dave Robicheaux on the button. But the best is Mary Steenburgen as Bootsie. She really nails this part.

The story is about a Cajun cop who is haunted by his own demons, and by the demons he faces in his work as an Iberia Parish Deputy. The characters he meets in trying to solve the murders are so true to life that you wonder if the people playing the parts were really actors. John Goodman is great, as usual, as is Ned Beatty.

While a good old fashion murder mystery awaits you, what is more important, as it is in the novels by James Lee Burke, is the story of Robicheaux. He is a man who has a strong moral code, yet is violent, alcoholic, and continually puts his family in danger. The complexity of his character is difficult to portray, but TLJ does it better than anyone else could.

It is a fine, beautiful movie. Now if only another movie could be made that also includes Clete Purcell, one of the best sidekicks ever written in a mystery novel series.

Drama at its Finest

[rstone-27 · 6/10 · 27 January 2009]

Dave Robicheaux is brought to life by Tommy Lee Jones. His portrayal of this character is so admirable its scary. Its like he is him... no questions, no doubts, he makes every little detail seam so smooth and traditional that to question his abilities is just not feasible.

The story line is truly original, the slight twists, and turns. The way the director and the writer makes the unbelievable believable is just great.

The movie just flowed in such a manner that it was not just entertaining, but NEVER boring and dull. The dialect was leading and had meaning.

A truly great film to watch if you like Drama's. Don't expect a knock down drag out action film. This is a down to earth movie with true emotions which make you think of your ethics.

Very enjoyable.

6/10

Crummy Movie

[baefild · 3/10 · 20 March 2009]

This is bad movie. There is no denying it as much as I'd like to. Tommy Lee Jones is about as good as he possible can be with the script they gave him, and he had a couple of decent action sequences that felt really out of place due to their acceptable quality.

Somewhere along the line someone figured that all of the shortcomings of script could be counteracted if they were to hire every single workhorse actor in the business, unfortunately even truly, deeply talented actors like Goodman, Beatty, Sarsgaard, Gammon, Steenburgen, MacDonald, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and lest we forget Mr. Jones himself can't fix the wooden dialogue, and plot progression that went absolutely nowhere.

In fact at one point I looked up, sure that the movie had been running for the past 2 hours only to find that I was 51 minutes into it.

Perhaps the most painful point of the movie was the subplot about the ghost confederate soldiers that seem to be of little to no help to the story. Other than slightly detracting from the confusing business at the end with the picture. *if you haven't seen this movie disregard this past statement which may seem tantalizing and know that it is not, you will not understand it any better after having watched the movie.

The most interesting thing about this movie may be that it is actually a sequel to the movie "Heaven's Prisoners" starring Alec Baldwin in the same role carried by Tommy Lee Jones in this movie. I may have to watch it now, first to see if it is as bad as In the Electric Mist, and second because I can't seem to (no matter how hard I try) break my man crush on Alec Baldwin.