The 1990s, which saw aboom in independent cinemaand a crop of young and exciting debut filmmakers, was an exciting period for cinema. The bloated excess of the 1980s paved the way for the grounded, intimate, and artful ’90s with the rise of the Sundance Film Festival and studio interest in filmmaking iconoclasts likeSteven Soderbergh,Kevin Smith,Wes Anderson, andQuentin Tarantino.
With increased studio and audience curiosity, more films likeEve’s Bayou, a family drama and twisty Southern Gothic thriller, vaulted into the mainstream. In her feature film debut, actorKasi Lemmonscrossed a story of coming-of-age with a searing drama about past trauma, guilt, and regret.StarringSamuel L. Jacksonin an impressive dramatic showcase, the critically acclaimedEve’s Bayoublended spirituality with the elliptical nature of memory to create an unmistakable cinematic experience.
Kasi Lemmons Announced Herself as a Singular Visionary in ‘Eve’s Bayou’
Of all the prominent directorialdebuts of the ’90s, includingSlacker,Reservoir Dogs, andBottle Rocket, theone that is frequently overlooked isEve’s Bayou, which announced Kasi Lemmons, who previously starred inThe Silence of the LambsandCandyman, as a singular visionary behind the camera. The 1997 film, set in a Creole-American community in Louisiana, is told through the memory of Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), who, as a 10-year-old, witnessed her father, Louis (Jackson), commit adultery. Eve’s distant and erratic behavior causes a strain in the Batiste household, and she begins seeking refuge with her Aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan), who specializes in voodoo practices and tries to comfort her niece with a resolution surrounding the distrust between her loved ones.
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In hislist of the 10 best filmsof 1997,Roger EbertplacedEve’s Bayouat #1, ahead of exceptional films likeThe Sweet Hereafter,Boogie Nights, andJackie Brown. Ebert wrote that Lemmons' film “takes us into a realm of poetry and dreams, and shows us how deceptive memory can be,” evoking the films ofIngmar Bergmanfor its examination of the precarious emotional core within a family. This is remarkably high praise for a debut, independent feature, but Ebert’s fondness is wholly earned. With haunting, fantastical imagery and elliptical editing rhythms,Lemmons transfuses the sensation of recalling memories on the screen and weaves it into the fabric of the characters.By framing the story from a child’s point of view, we accept the fleeting nature of memories, as well as the distorted worldview of a child, one that is myopic and easily swayed. We believe that Eve is emotionally sincere, but the film provides plenty of skepticism regarding the validity of her recollections.
‘Eve’s Bayou’ Recalls Memories Through the Mind of a Child Grappling With Trauma
Released two years earlier,Eve’s BayouparallelsThe Sixth Sensein its portrait of a child suffering from an unknowable curse. Similar to thevarious Christian allusionsinM. Night Shyamalan’s breakout film, Eve’s existential crisis is rooted in the long storied history of Creole folklore that lingers with her community in the present day.Eve’s Bayou, also likeThe Sixth Sense, carries aSteven Spielbergqualityby telling a child’s story with adult intensity and conviction. The ’90s indie boom saw a crop of rule-breaking filmmakers sampling tropes and stories of the past with postmodern attitudes, andKasi Lemmons splendidly infuses Southern myth, New Orleans voodoo, and the complicated history of Black America with a coming-of-age drama.Aided by a score bySpike LeeregularTerence Blanchard, the film’s deeply expressionist atmosphere verges on the realm of psychological horror, andAmy Vincent’s cinematography gives the luscious bayou a mythical aura.
With its blend of heartfelt melodrama, haunting memories, and a spiritual reckoning of one’s life, Kasi Lemmons crafted a modern-day Southern folk tale inEve’s Bayou. Evoking the stylish, unconventional formalism of the French New Wave, the film is less concerned about rigid plot mechanics and fact-based examinations of the circumstances of the story andmore curious about the psychological process of Eve’s battle with trauma. While Lemmons never shies away from the harsh emotional complexities of the story, she displays an ethereal touch when dealing with the sensitivities of a child’s vulnerable mind. Among the crop of stellar performances, notably the star-making child performance by Jurnee Smollett, Samuel L. Jackson, who also produced the film,subverts his infectious, theatrical energyfor a muted turn as a morally gray patriarch. For a major movie star who frequents the world of blockbuster franchises, the role of Louis Batiste was risky, but he, like most critics upon release, saw untapped potential in Kasi Lemmons.
Eve’s Bayou
