The Plot: A respected black doctor is loved by his family in early sixties rural Louisiana. The reason for the film: Its always for money, but this one is to fleece money from blacks. Its a black film with a black cast.
Instead of constantly churning out ghetto films and rappers in the hood films, Hollywood has decided to create a number of black film genres. The trouble is, the budgets aren't as big as white mainstream pictures.
Eve's Bayou is in this category. An indy film for discerning black audiences? Don't you believe it. This film is stupid. Its biggest mistake is leaving the telling of the story to the black doctor's children. The doctor, played by Samuel L Jackson, is a womanizer and both his children know it. The MD has a sister in law whose three husbands have all died. These details are mainly just strewn about the screenplay at odd times. Dianhan Carroll plays a character role as a voodoo mistress. A "maybe" case of incest is tossed into the mix toward the end. And finally there is a jealousy inflamed murder and a posthumous "explanation" of the incest, as the camera begins to dolly out and the sun begins to set. Its nice scenery and nice dresses for all the members of the doctor's house. I think the intention was to create a normal story of upper middle class family life, only with blacks this time. It was too slow and relied too much on flashbacks for its dramatic scenes.
Oh, and one curious thing. Every woman living in the doctor's household had pierced ears but not one wore earrings in the film.
Mike Rice
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