Taglines: The secrets that hold us together can also tear us apart.
Eve’s Bayou movie storyline. Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), a 10-year-old girl, lives in a prosperous Creole-American community in Louisiana with her younger brother Poe (Jake Smollett) and her older sister Cisely (Meagan Good), a pretty girl who is just entering puberty. Their parents are Roz (Lynn Whitfield) and Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), a well-respected doctor in Louisiana’s “colored” community who claims descent from the French aristocrat who founded the town of Eve’s Bayou.
One night after a raucous party, Eve accidentally witnesses her father having sex with Matty Mereaux (Lisa Nicole Carson), a family friend. However, Cisely, who has a very affectionate relationship with her father, convinces Eve that she misinterpreted an innocent moment. The unreliability of memory and observation remain important themes throughout the film.
The summer quickly becomes a chaotic and stressful one for the Batiste family. Eve’s relationship with her parents becomes more strained as she discovers more evidence of her father’s serial infidelity. Cisely comes into conflict with both her sister and mother as she enters puberty and tries to navigate the difficult transition to adulthood, particularly with regard to her appearance and sexuality. Roz eventually begins to suspect her husband’s infidelity, prompting conflict between the two as well.
During the chaotic summer, Eve often seeks refuge with her Aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan) who works as a fortune teller and who has had a string of lovers who all died violently. After Eve has a confusing vision of something terrible happening, Mozelle informs her that the gift of second sight runs in their family. Meanwhile, Eve, angered by her father’s infidelity, begins to tease Matty Mereaux’s husband Lenny (Roger Guenveur Smith) with her knowledge about it.
Eve’s Bayou is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel Lisa Jackson served as a producer and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield and Meagan Good. Other starring are Debbi Morgan, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Branford Marsalis and Diahann Carroll.
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Directed by: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Megan Good, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Branford Marsalis, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Diahann Carroll
Screenplay by: Kasi Lemmons
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Amy Vincent
Film Editing by: Terilyn A. Shropshire
Costume Design by:
Set Decoration by:
Art Direction by:
Music by: Terence Blanchard
Distributed by: Trimark Pictures
Release Date: November 7, 1997
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