Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Bobby DeLaughter	Alec Baldwin
Myrlie Evers	Whoopi Goldberg
Byron De La Beckwith	James Woods	½
Ed Peters	Craig T. Nelson	-
Peggy Lloyd	Susanna Thompson	-
Burt DeLaughter	Lucas Black	-
Drew DeLaughter	Joseph Tello	-
Claire DeLaughter	Alexa Vega	-
Charlie Crisco	William H. Macy	½
Benny Bennett	Lloyd 'Benny' Bennett	-
Himself	Darrell Evers	-
Reena Evers	Yolanda King	-

Review

A determined protagonist finds human rights violations within the American justice system and decides to rectify the problem. That's a quick synopsis of Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men, and also of his latest film Ghosts of Mississippi. This is as idealistic and arch-American as movies come, both narratively and structurewise, but Reiner has perfected this type of storytelling: riveting courtroom dramas interspersed with some well-aimed social criticism. And Ghosts of Mississippi works well in this respect, even if the structure is a little too conventional and the film never quite reaches the level of suspense of its predecessor A Few Good Men. With Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods, who was Oscar nominated for another of his trademark performances. Baldwin is solid and engaging in the lead, but cannot quite rise to the occasion in his most emotional moments. Goldberg, whose character in many ways is the film's most interesting, finds a nice angle to her part and communicates well how her mourning over her husband's death has been replaced with a feeling of pride and honour.