Eve's Bayou

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Jake Smollett, Ethel Ayler, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Roger Guenuer Smith, Diahann Carroll
Directed by: Kasi Lemmons
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In Louisiana, a girl (Jurnee Smollett) sees her father (Samuel L. Jackson) in the midst of an indiscretion. This event spirals their entire family in unexpected directions.

Review:

Tim: Eve's Bayou may not be the easiest movie to watch, but it's an effective, memorable film filled with Southern family drama. Kasi Lemmons' feature film directorial debut offers up complex characters, strong performances from the cast, and a story told in her unique voice. I don't think she quite wrings out the maximum emotion she could have from the story, but this is a good movie.

The characters are certainly the strongest aspect of the film and there's a few absolute standouts from the cast. Jurnee Smollet gives perhaps the best performance, which is stunning when you consider how young she was. She's had a few big years recently and it felt like she "burst" onto the scene. It was informative and fascinating to see this, her second film performance from her childhood. What struck me is that many of the things that she's leveraged to give great performances in things like Lovecraft Country and Birds of Prey were present here, in her youth. Smollett seems wise beyond her years. Her performance here is fearless, she's all in, in a way that only young people can be. She sparkles and shines with an inner strength and energy that is a bit mesmerizing. It truly is a special performance and it makes the movie better. Samuel L. Jackson is strong, too. Jackson has done much throughout his career. He's played so many different kinds of characters in so many different kinds of films. It was fun seeing him here in a more straightforward, dramatic role. His most notable characteristics aren't present. Jackson shows here that he can be quite effective as an actor when the performance calls upon restraint. He is at turns warm and caring, as well as selfish and cold. It's a strong performance. Meagan Good is decent in her role, too. Lynn Whitfield wasn't bad, but didn't quite emerge in a cast with better performers. She did have some solid moments, though. Vondie Curtis-Hall gave an effective supporting performance. I enjoyed the cast as a whole.

I thought the movie itself was good. The story mostly holds your attention and there's some incredible dramatic moments. There are a few unexpected twists thrown in. The characters are interesting and complex and you grow to care about them. You become invested in their lives as the story proceeds. While Lemmons' first time effort as a director is impressive, there's some signs of her relative inexperience, too. The film is probably a good 10-12 minutes too long. It loses a bit of steam during the third act. The characters are good and connect with the audience, but the movie never quite delivers the emotional knockout punch it needed. The pacing could have been a little tighter. These aren't major issues, but they did affect the quality in my mind. Some of the subplots felt a bit underdeveloped and i wondered if a few served more to distract than add.

While I can't say I loved Eve's Bayou, I thought it was a good movie and I'm really glad I watched it. It was entertaining, memorable, and effective.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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