Eve's Bayou (1997)
Seen on 8 November 1997 with Linda at the SONY Lincoln Square for $21.50--two teletickets for Linda's birthday.
*Eve's Bayou* is one of the best movies I have seen this year. It is difficult to classify this movie. Set in the early 1960s in the Louisiana Bayou, it follows the lives in an established family of the area, their daily travails and their secrets. The Batistes are descended from a former slave turned landowner--the original Eve Ba tiste. Among them are the doctor, Louis (Samuel Jackson), his wife Roz (Lynn Whitfield), his sister Mozelle (Debbie Morgan), and his three children--Cisely, Eve, and Poe (played by Meagan Good, Jurnee Smollett, and Jake Smollett, respectively). With Diahann Carroll as Elzora, the local voodoo lady.
In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy said "All happy families are alike, but an unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion." One thing unhappy families all do have in common is an aware ness of why they are disturbed. The Batistes suffer this cognizance as well. Louis spends a lot of time away from his wife and children, philandering with many women on and off his medical rounds. He even fools around right under his wife's nose, in the c arriage house during a party they are throwing, while the whole family is just yards away. Eve, however, is aware of a lot of these things, and when she tries to bring these items to light, her mother and sister work to keep her quiet.
The movie's publicity is pegged to the better known stars, Jackson and Whitfield, but it is Debbi Morgan as Mozelle and young Jurnee Smollett who make the most memorable impressions as the aunt/niece duo who share many moments together and the gift of psychic foresight. Debbie Morgan, by the way, might be new to movies, but is highly recognizable to anyone watching soap operas since 1983 (ex-Angela, *All My Children/Loving/The City*; Ellen, *Port Charles*). It's great to see her getting the sort of role she deserves on th e silver screen.
The movie shifts from deadly serious to lighthearted in an adept manner--for example while 10-year-old Eve bears the horrible truths of her father's affairs, it is during the time when their mother keeps them cooped up in the house all s ummer because of a premonition. Like most children, they live moment to moment and act like any kids would under such conditions, even though larger secrets and pressures are upon them.
*Eve's Bayou* also features some wonderful visual effects along with depth of character. Go see it. You will not be disappointed. Directed by Kasi Lemmons.
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
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