Eve's Bayou (1997)

The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The big Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive women patients. One ... See full summary »

Director:

Kasi Lemmons

Writer:

Kasi Lemmons

Stars:

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Meagan Good, Samuel L. Jackson

10 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jurnee Smollett-Bell	...	Eve Batiste (as Jurnee Smollett)
Meagan Good	...	Cisely Batiste
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Louis Batiste
Lynn Whitfield	...	Roz Batiste
Debbi Morgan	...	Mozelle Batiste Delacroix
Jake Smollett	...	Poe Batiste
Ethel Ayler	...	Gran Mere
Diahann Carroll	...	Elzora
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Julian Grayraven
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Lenny Mereaux
Lisa Nicole Carson	...	Matty Mereaux
Branford Marsalis	...	Harry
Afonda Colbert	...	Henrietta
Lola Dalferes	...	Lynette
Marcus Lyle Brown	...	Hosea

Storyline

The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The big Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive women patients. One day Louis is flirting with married and sexy Metty Mereaux, not knowing that he is observed by his youngest idealistic daughter Eve, who is there by accident. Eve can not forget the incident which is traumatic for her naivete and shares a secret with older sister Cisely. Lies start to roll...

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | louisiana | secret | spider | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

The secrets that hold us together can also tear us apart.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Trimark

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amores Divididos

Filming Locations:

Covington, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£51,175 (UK) (14 August 1998)

Gross:

£133,596 (UK) (21 August 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trimark Pictures, ChubbCo Film, Addis Wechsler Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jurnee and Jake are brother and sister in real life.

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Goofs

Eve puts 20 bucks she takes from her dad's wallet in her right pocket. In the marketplace where she pays Elzora, she takes the money out of her left pocket.

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Quotes

Eve Batiste: [while dusting off the pictures of Mozelle's late husbands] Which one did you love best?
Mozelle Batiste Delacroix: I don't know, Eve. They was all different. Anderson was the handsomest man I had ever seen. Your Uncle Harry, he was the sweetest. And Maynard....Maynard loved me most of all. You know, when I was your age, before I ever did the counseling, I could look at people, complete strangers, and see their whole lives so clear. But when I looked at each of my husbands, I never saw a thing. That's how it always is. ...

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.21 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"A Child With The Blues"
Written by Curtis Mayfield
Performed by Erykah Badu

User Reviews

Mojo better blues

The ghost of Tennessee Williams hover over "Eve's Bayou". The action takes place in a moss draped Louisiana backwater, and the family under observation (in their big gracious bayou house) is ripe with desires, disappointments, and the mysterious scent of sex as any in Mr. William's neighborhood. But the notable accomplishment of actress-writer Kasi Lemmons in her feature directorial debut is in creating a landscape quite beautiful and entirely her own - a fluid, feminine, African American, Southern gothic narrative that covers a tremendous amount of emotional territory with the lightest and most graceful of steps. The story belongs to young Eve Batiste. "The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old," a grown up Eve announced in a provocative prologue voice over. But the drama unfolds (in an unspecified bygone era when well to do woman wore gorgeous dresses to parties in their own homes) is far more shape shifting than such an audience grabbing statement can convey. Eve's father, Louis, is a suave, popular doctor and gentle family man who's also a womanizer - a flaw that bedevils Eve's graceful mother and especially torments Eve's older sister, Cisely, who adores her daddy more than she should. Eve, meanwhile worships her big sister. And in reaching out to support Cisely in a primal sexual struggle neither girl understand, Eve turns first to her father's sister Aunt Mozelle a vibrant, enigmatic woman infused with good-witch spiritual powers, and then to Elzora a voodoo priestess with potent bad witch abilities. Lemmons thus lays out big themes - the little seductions of fathers and daughters - the thick bond between sisters - the power of dark and light intentions in the material world. But she covers any traces of "heaviness" with shimmering, dream state visual elegance. And she makes up for any rough spots from the movie's younger actors with with a lovely score, and a great soundtrack of classic jazz and blues.