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.
Comment
03/19/08
Eve's Bayou (1997)
80
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:49
Fresh:39
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: A father's philandering nature is only one of several problems for a black southern family, but, to 9 year-old Eve, it is the most immediate. As her suspicions deepen, so does her desire to bring... [More]
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Director: Kasi Lemmons
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Reviews for Eve's Bayou
Top CriticIt feels like I've seen dozens of films this year by first time writers and directors, and not one has stuck to me until now.
05/26/06
The melodramatic mysticism is as thick as the bayou moss, but Eve's Bayou manages to maintain a magical narrative about Louisiana southern backwater living that is intoxicating and engaging.
05/14/03
A fascinating tale of guilt, consequences, and voodoo.
01/01/00
Top CriticEve's Bayou is a film shocking in methods and motives.
01/01/00
A spooky drama that explores the bonds between women and the explosions set off by family problems.
02/28/02
Hardly revolutionary.
02/16/03
A solid, if somewhat heavy-handed, Southern Gothic tale, steeped in mysticism.
04/09/05
More than anything, about the nature of memory and how it rarely matches the truth of life.
03/08/09
For the viewer, it is a reminder that sometimes films can venture into the realms of poetry and dreams.
01/01/00
Top CriticLemmons' focus on strong female characters, and her willingness to ignore accepted notions of "black filmmaking" are powerful assets, but one can't help wishing the film as a whole lived up to its initial promise.
03/19/08
In Eve's Bayou, Tennessee goes to Louisiana, and finds a familiar home. Tennessee Williams, that is.
04/12/02
Top CriticIt would be a shame if Eve's Bayou, Kasi Lemmons' beautiful first feature film, gets pigeonholed as a "black" movie just because it has no white characters.
01/01/00
Top CriticIts racial and gender crossover potential is great, given the solid, realistic acting.
01/01/00
Through the film, the visuals are also enhanced by the wonderful score, which echoes jazz and cajun music. In the end, this might not be the year's best film, but it's still a wonderful film.
09/10/02
A gothic and, for better or worse, poetic memoir about a young girl and her family of Creole aristocrats.
06/18/02
Top CriticA rich and emotional look at one small community and is not a bad debut writing and directing effort by Kasi Lemmons.
01/01/00
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.
06/24/06
Never quite manages to be its own film.
01/01/00
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