Eve's Bayou (1997)
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80% of critics liked it
(51 reviews) -
86% of users liked it
(7,919 ratings)
A young girl learns some difficult lessons about truth, love, and fidelity in this critically-acclaimed Southern gothic drama. Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett) is a ten-year-old girl whose father Louis (Samuel L. Jackson) is a successful and well-liked doctor in an African-American community in… More A young girl learns some difficult lessons about truth, love, and fidelity in this critically-acclaimed Southern gothic drama. Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett) is a ten-year-old girl whose father Louis (Samuel L. Jackson) is a successful and well-liked doctor in an African-American community in Louisiana. Louis is a good father and an excellent provider, but he also has a way of attracting the ladies, and he's not inclined to turn them away. One night, the Batistes hold a party, and Eve, her older sister Cisely (Meagan Good), and their mother Roz (Lynn Whitfield) all notice that Louis is spending a great deal of time dancing with the same woman. Eve later spies her father and the woman in an embrace in the carriage house, though Louis unconvincingly claims that nothing untoward was happening. The evidence of Louis' infidelity takes a toll on the entire family: Cisely, who at age 14 is walking the middle-ground between being a girl and a woman, becomes sullen and confused about her new emotions, Roz takes out her frustrations on her loved ones, and Eve visits Elzora (Diahann Carroll), a voodoo priestess, looking for advice and possibly revenge. Meanwhile, Eve's Aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan), who claims to have psychic powers, arrives to stay with the family after the death of her third husband, though she isn't lonely for long after meeting the eccentric Julien Greyraven (Vondie Curtis-Hall). Eve's Bayou was the first project as writer-director for actress Kasi Lemmons; leading man Samuel L. Jackson also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Kasi Lemmons
- Written By
- Kasi Lemmons
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Jun 1, 1996 Wide
- Studio
- Lions Gate Films
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Subplots are woven stealthily into the story, taking the pressure off the central drama, allowing it to be affecting rather than melodramatic, and heightening the atmosphere of the lush Louisiana setting.
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
A sparkling directorial debut.
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Emanuel Levy, Variety
An intensely emotional drama that mixes elements of Southern Gothic with the kinds of characters and tensions that prevail in the plays of Southern writers like Tennessee Williams.
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, Time Out
Writer/director Kasi Lemmons shows sweet judgment here, doesn't caricature or demonise the errant father, and elicits a host of nuanced performances from women of all ages.
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Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
A gothic and, for better or worse, poetic memoir about a young girl and her family of Creole aristocrats.
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Cast
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Jurnee Smollett
as Eve Batiste
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Meagan Good
as Cisely Batiste
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Samuel L. Jackson
as Louis Batiste
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Lynn Whitfield
as Roz Batiste
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Debbi Morgan
as Mozelle Batiste Delacroix
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Jake Smollet
as Poe Batiste
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Ethel Ayler
as Gran Mere
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Diahann Carroll
as Elzora
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Vondie Curtis-Hall
as Julian Grayraven
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Lisa Nicole Carson
as Matty Mereaux
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Roger Guenveur Smith
as Lenny Mereaux
