Customer Reviews

Eve's Bayou [VHS]

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Eve's Bayou is a spectacular movie. The color and scenery is wonderful and the people are elegant and troubled. Even the character's names stir up visions of dark swamp water and sultry heat. The story is told and seen through the eyes of little Eve Batiste played by a wonderful young actress named Jurnee Smollett. Eve takes us deep into her world which is filled with colorful characters and complex personalities.Diahann Carroll is fabulous as the old fortune teller Elzora with her insane laughter. Debbi Morgan as Aunt Mozelle Batiste Delacroix is something to behold. Aunt Mozelle has promised her family that she will not use her "second sight" to tell fortunes, but neighbors won't let her keep her promise. They seek her out to find missing husbands anyway. Lynn Whitfied as the manor born wife is beautiful and poised as she tries to keep her family together in spite of her wandering husband (Samuel L. Jackson). Jackson is very sexy in this movie and his character has roving eyes as well as roving hands that don't stop even when he is caught in a compromising position by his youngest daughter, Eve. This starts a set of events that lead to the total destruction of an already deeply troubled family.Although this movie did not make history at the box office my guess is that it will become a cult classic. Years from now this movie will be viewed for what it is, a brilliantly produced film. You can literally feel the Louisiana heat from Eve's Bayou. Vannie

This is director Kasi Lemmons' first film and she has entered the world of cinema with a very bold start. Eve's Bayou is a very passionate story about life and love with a family surrounded by dark secrets. Lemmons' has boldly introduced us to a world in which magic is obvious and characters are deeply developed. There isn't one actor in this film that you do not fully appreciate. Everyone in this film gives everything that they have to help create this hidden masterpiece. Roger Ebert named this film the best of 1997, and I agree whole-heartedly. What makes this film different from other films of this nature is that Lemmons keeps us grounded. We are constantly reminded of where we are and whom we are dealing with. There is not some outside element trying to sneak in and disrupt the peace; it is a completely internal movie that allows us to devote ourselves to this desperate family. She controls Jackson with the greatest of ease, and gives us one of the most powerful child performances ever. If I had the chance to give the Oscar to Jurnee Smollett for her role of Eve in this film, I would have gladly handed it to her. Her performance commanded the film. She was the strongest and most beautifully developed character in this film. Smollett was outstanding. I have never been so impressed with a child actor as I was with her in this film. Her eyes gave us all the drama that we needed. I never thought that I would witness acting in its purest form come from a child. For anything, this film is worth seeing just for the performance of Smollett. She literally steals the scenes from everyone, even Mr. Jackson.

I mentioned earlier that I loved the fact that this film kept us grounded by continually showing us scenes from the bayou. It kept our minds focused on where we were and the environment that surrounded these troubled people. Amazingly, Lemmons has transformed this setting into more than just a place, she has given it life. Not only through our characters, but it also is the center of most of the magic that occurs. It is a very symbolic reference. A bayou is a creek or a secondary waterway that is a passageway to another larger body of water. In this film, Eve represents the bayou as she travels to her family, the larger body of water. Also, whenever Mozelle calls upon the "spirits" her first sight is of the bayou. Lemmons may be saying that the bayou is more than just water, it is the center of everyone's universe in this town. Perhaps it has more meanings, but I really felt that Lemmons was using the bayou as more than just a place setting, it spoke to me more about the characters.

Finally, I would like to add that coupled with the amazing acting, Lemmons gives some of the most memorable direction behind the camera. The scenes when Mozelle speaks about how she lost her second husband (the one that loved her the most) because her lover wanted her to himself was riveting. Told through the mirror, this was one of the most interesting ways to tell a flashback. Instead of using the classic "black and white" or faded lines trick, Lemmons actually brought the scene to us. We witness it firsthand and this allows us to be impacted deeper. I felt the connection, and it worked.

Overall, this was a gem. I wasn't expecting to see such a caliber of acting and direction as I did in this film. The cinematography was outstanding. Lemmons has an eye and a passion for this film, and it is apparent with every scene that she captures. The Batiste family engulfs all of your emotion. Lemmons takes innocent children and captures you within their world, giving you only brief moments to breathe. She shows us the power behind Jackson's voice and the ability he has to expand his career. This was a surprise for me, but a well enjoyed surprise. I suggest you check this film out when time permits. It is a rare find that you will probably see in the bargain bin at any local store. Pick it up and enjoy it. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Grade: **** out of *****

I don't ever give 5 stars because can any movie or music be perfect? This one is. I first saw this movie in 1997 and have veiwed this movie over 2 dozen times since then. One reason is because I love it so much the other is because just when I think I have the answer to this story, I notice a scene or a line that makes me change all my previous notions. No other film I've ever seen has ever done that. The replay value of this movie is un unending. There is a mystery in this film but it's a perfect mystery that doesn't beg for you to solve it, it just let's you believe what you wish until you scratch the surface that is. Now for my political rant: This movie should have won all kinds of awards including from the academy, but it didn't. That year was the year the academy saw fit to recognize Independent films, remember? I wonder why they would do that, whatever could be the reason???

As this wonderful movie opens, we enter the world of Eve's Bayou, the Louisiana home of ten-year old Eve (Jurnee Smollett) and her charming, philandering father Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), her glamorous and superstitious mother, her psychic aunt (Debbi Turner), and her big sister who idolizes Daddy as much as Eve does. The narrator's opening line concerns a murder, and we wait for this terrible event to occur.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. It drew me in and held me spellbound, with it's believable story and likeable characters. We really get to know and care about Eve's family and all their secrets. The actors are uniformly excellent, especially the young star, Jurnee Smollett. The director succeeds by constantly reminding us of the picturesque bayou setting and its unique community. As the story got closer and closer to the inevitable tragedy, I was almost holding my breath. It's an intense story about real, multi-layered people. Highly recommended.

A truly impressive and memorable debut by Kasy Lemmons. Beautifully acted and masterfully conceived of the supernatural on the bayou. It takes you back to a time when magic and voodoo were really big and highly believed in. An absorbing story that has otherworldliness to it and that is what makes this film exceptional, everything from bayou, fortunetellers and spells are interwoven into the story in a fascinating way. But also the acting is truly impressive, not a bum characterization in the whole cast, even the younger cast members are great.

Lynn Whitfield who is beautiful and poised has delivers a powerful performance as Jackson's tortured wife who must put up with Jackson's affairs with other women to keep a stable household but yet is in denial of what is happening around her. Debbi Morgan is also memorable as Jackson's sister who has a supernatural gift. There is a scene where she explains the death of her second husband to young Smollett that is masterfully surreal, a gem of a scene that is a highpoint in the film, as is the powerful ending. The performance of Eve (Smollett) almost stopped my heart, that little girl could really make you feel what she was feeling and boy can she act. And Cisely (Good) also did a wonderful job. I really cried with her and my heart went out to her; she only loved her father.

Samuel L. Jackson delivers a powerful performance; as the doctor-father whose need for love and affirmation is so engulfing that he seeks it anywhere and everywhere.
But heading this terrific cast is the young Jurnee Smollett; she plays a key role and carries the whole film on her shoulders. A lyrical drama with surreal undertones.

A beautiful one of a kind film.

"Eve's Bayou" is the deceptively simple story of a little girl's loss of innocence. Eve is the middle child of an upper-class black Creole family in Louisiana; her father, a doctor, is a compulsive womanizer, searching for the admiration he is denied by his beautiful but frigid wife. When Eve catches her father cheating on her mother, she wants to punish him, and in her rage, she brings about his destruction.

Eve has the gift of Sight, which was passed on to her from her aunt; throughout most of the film she is unaware of her powers and only at the film's end does she begin to realize what she has inherited and the responsibility it brings with it. Eve's older sister is their father's favorite, she's his princess, the light of his life, and when her hero-worship of him takes on sexual undertones of which she herself, in her innocence, is unaware, she takes his violent reaction and repulse as a stunning rejection of her as a female and as his child.

The acting in the film is superb throughout. Samuel L. Jackson is excellent as the doctor-father whose need for love and affirmation is so engulfing that he seeks it anywhere and everywhere; Lynne Whitfield is just right as his starched, immaculate and rejected wife; Debbi Morgan makes the most out of a great role as Eve's aunt, who drives men to their deaths without even trying, and Journee Smollett gives a knockout performance as the young Eve. Kasi Lemmons' sensitive direction lets the movie tell a powerful story without overdoing the drama or the emotions. A really impressive debut by an enormously talented director.

Judy Lind

Kasi Lemmons is phenomenal as director, she also wrote it! The movie is well acted and written. Oscar worthy performances by Jurnee Smollett and Samuel L. Jackson. Excellent cast, Debbi Morgan owned the role of Mozelle! Jurnee Smollett really evolves into a great actress!
In the film, Roz(Whitfield)is a devoted mother of three who can't admit that her marriage is falling apart due to Louis' (Jackson)philandering ways. The youngest daughter and middle child Eve(Jurnee Smollett), witnesses her father having an affair. Desperate to make sense of what she witnesses, Eve turns to her older sister Cisely (Meagan Good) who puts a creative twist on what Eve has seen. Still not satisfied, Eve turns to her Aunt Mozelle(Morgan) who warns that if she ever told a soul she'd kill her. Unable to find the understanding she is looking for Eve, turns to Elzora(Carroll) to put an ending to her family's suffering.
The film opens with the Batiste having a party at their home where we meet the main characters. We learn that Eve is the middle of three children and is ten years old. Now as the film opens with a voice-over of adult Eve giving background to the movie, she starts by saying, 'Memory is a selection of images some elusive others printed indelibly on the brain...'which lets us know that the whole movie is from a recollection of a child. The events are seen through the eyes of ten-year old Eve.
You immediately see the bond between Cisely and Louis instantly. She is the epitome of a Daddy's girl. Eve 's particularly close with Mozelle. She confides in her about what she has seen. Poe and Roz are close. All the children have a close relationship with an adult.
There were so many scenes in the movie that screamed volumes but they were no words. We saw the relationship between Cisely and Eve when they were sitting on the chaise, after the storm and Roz hit Cis. When Cisely put her finger to her lip signaling to eve to keep quiet. The spider on the window when Mozelle and GrayRaven were kissing.(Mozelle was known as a black spider, because all the men she married died.) Amy Vincent was in charge of photography and she did an excellent job at capturing the Bayou, alot of great shots in the film.

This is one of the truly best movies I have seen. It touches on some of the beliefs, family "dirty little" secrets and the drama of that era that is known through-out the African-American community. The plot and screen-play is well written. This goes up there with "The Color Purple" and "Beloved". There are heavy hitters in this film, Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbie Morgan and Diahann Carol, and some new-comers who will make their marks Jurnee Smollett and Meagan Goode.

This movie is moving and poetic in every sense of the word. From the acting right down to the musical score. I was astounded to learn this is a directorial debut.
Debbi Morgan is absolutely amazing in her role as the sister with the "gift of sight". She provides us with the most amazing scene in the film. In the scene, she is recalling a confrontation between her secret lover and husband. She recalls the events while looking through a mirror, and the scene is acted out as "reflections" in the mirror. This is one of the most powerful scenes I have witnessed. Now that I own the DVD, I can watch it over and over, it is that powerful.
My 2nd favorite performance is by Dianne Caroll, who plays the town voodoo witch.
The DVD has great commentary and an equally well produced short featurette.
The film is complimented by the musical score, which helps the story flow like velvet. I even bought the soundtrack for its amazing hypnotic quality.

A truly impressive and memorable debut by Kasy Lemmons. Beautifully acted and masterfully conceived of the supernatural on the bayou. An absorbing story that has an otherworldliness to it and that is what makes this film exceptional, everything from budu, fortunetellers and spells are interwoven into the story in a fascinating way. But also the acting is truly impressive, not a bum characterization in the whole cast, even the younger cast members are great. Lynn Whitfield delivers a powerful performance as Jackson's tortured wife who must put up with Jackson's affairs with other women to keep a stable household but yet is in denial of what is happening around her. Debbi Morgan is also memorable as Jackson's sister who has a supernatural gift. There is a scene where she explains the death of her second husband to young Smollett that is masterfully surreal, a gem of a scene that is a highpoint in the film, as is the powerful ending. Samuel L. Jackson delivers a powerful performance, he recuperated after a career slump after 'Pulp Fiction'. But heading this terrific cast is the young Jurnee Smollett, she plays a key role and carries the whole film on her shoulders. A lyrical drama with surreal undertones. A beautiful one of a kind film. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!