In the Electric Mist | DVD Review

Bertrand Tavernier’s first picture to be shot in the English language received a direct-to-video fate because of apparent complications with the producers who decided to cut down the run time and avoid a theatrical release. What we have as a film, In the Electirc Mist would make a good book. In fact, it’s based on a book by James Lee Burke featuring his beloved New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux. And this is precisely why the film fails. Despite a fine cast and an atmosphere thicker than the Louisiana bayou’s air, the viewer never feels properly introduced to the character of Dave Robicheaux and it’s hard to invest emotionally in a film when you don’t really get a feel for any of the characters and the plot is more than a little confusing.

Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) heads a stellar cast as Robicheaux, the detective who’s investigating a series of grisly murders whose clues also offer some insight into a murder that occurred many years ago. While trying to piece everything together, Robicheaux uncovers layers of corruption involving old friend and current mobster ‘Baby Feet’ Balboni (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski), among others, and has hallucinatory conversations with a dead Confederate general. As he gets closer to the truth, things become very personal for Robicheaux, his wife Bootsie (Mary Steenburgen, ), and his daughter Alafair. This is the second film to be based on Burke’s Robicheaux character (the first was 1996’s almost equally underwhelming Heaven’s Prisoners, featuring Alec Baldwin as the detective), and it feels like the audience is expected to know the background of all the characters. That’s fine for fans of the novels, but good luck to anyone else trying to figure out what’s going on.

That’s not to say that the film is without its merits, though. As mentioned, the cast turns in some strong performances, especially Jones as Robicheaux and Peter Sarsgaard (The Skeleton Key) as an alcoholic heartthrob movie star who strikes up an interesting friendship with Robicheaux, a recovering alcoholic himself. Acclaimed French director Bertrand Tavernier (‘Round Midnight) maximizes the setting, imbuing the film with enough deep south atmosphere that the viewer almost feels the swampy humidity emanating from the screen. The excellent score by Marco Beltrami (3:10 to Yuma) also helps in pulling the audience into the film, but screenwriting team Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromoloski (The Pledge) seem to have worked directly from the novel, without a thought to providing some background information on any of the characters. Granted, a Dave Robicheaux mystery is usually a meandering, slow burn of a story, but that doesn’t translate well to film, and it shows here.

The only bonus feature on the DVD release of In The Electric Mist is the theatrical trailer. It might have helped viewers understand the plot more if there were a featurette or two, or perhaps a commentary track. Then again, maybe not. You can’t help but get the feeling that nobody involved was really happy with the way it turned out. The 2.35:1 widescreen format provides for some breathtaking Louisiana scenery, though, and the Dolby Digital Surround mix is strong, especially during a party scene where blues legend Buddy Guy (as Sam ‘Hogman’ Patin) plays some old school blues tunes.

Originally intended as a large scale release (it was even nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear Award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival), something happened along its path to release and In the Electric Mist was unceremoniously dumped directly to DVD. Perhaps the plot was just too confusing or left too many loose ends uneresolved. If you’re a fan of the Dave Robicheaux novels, or if you’re in the mood to watch Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman chew some spectacular scenery for 90 minutes, this is the film for you. Otherwise, proceed with caution, lest you get all sweaty from the humidity and dehydrate yourself trying to figure out what you just watched.

Movie rating – 2

Disc Rating – 2