Crazy in Alabama

Crazy in Alabama is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Antonio Banderas and based on Mark Childress' 1993 novel of the same name. The film stars Melanie Griffith as an abused housewife who becomes an actress, while her nephew deals with a racially motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff. It marked Dakota Johnson's film debut. Plot In 1965 Alabama, Peter Joseph "Peejoe" Bullis lives in a small town at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Peejoe's eccentric Aunt Lucille Vinson kills her husband Chester with poison, after suffering years of abuse. She decapitates him and brings his severed head with her en route to Hollywood, where she is convinced that television stardom awaits her. In New Orleans, Lucille buys a black hat box to store Chester's head. When a bartender on Bourbon Street insults her, she threatens him with a revolver and robs the cash register before stealing his car. Back in Alabama, Peejoe's uncle (Lucille's brother), Dove, a local funeral director, is notified of the incident. While traveling, Lucille becomes increasingly paranoid, convincing Chester's ghost is haunting her. Meanwhile, Peejoe becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially segregated municipal swimming pool, leading to a protest that explodes into deadly violence. A young black boy, Taylor Jackson, is killed by the town sheriff, John Doggett. Peejoe, the only witness, is pressured by the sheriff to keep it quiet. While mowing his lawn, Peejoe is struck in the eye with a rock; the townspeople circulate a false story that he was shot in retaliation for Taylor's death. The black townspeople stage a protest honoring Taylor in which they enter the swimming pool. Peejoe and his brother, Wiley, join them in support, but the protest is interrupted by police and white pro-Confederates. Lucille wins $32,000 in Las Vegas while playing roulette at a casino, and subsequently pays for a personal driver, Norman, to bring her to Los Angeles. She arrives in Hollywood, taking the stage name Carolyn Clay, and manages to land a minor role on Bewitched. Back in Alabama, Peejoe and Wiley attend a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., and Peejoe's racist aunt Earline grows infuriated over the publicity involving the family. While watching television one night, they are all surprised to see Lucille on television.