Eve's Bayou

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Eve's Bayou ★★★½ 1997 (R)

Eve (newcomer Smollett) comes from the upper-middle class Batiste family that seems all too perfect on the outside, but secrets and lies slowly surface when she mistakenly catches her doctor father Louis (Jackson) doing more than a routine check-up with a female patient. With her innocence shattered by the discovery, Eve's torment soon affects her emotionally strained mother Roz (Whitfield) and adolescent tease older sister Cisely (Good). Set in Louisiana 1962, and told in flashback, film presents a mesmerizing and complex story with haunting visuals. Ghostly appearance from Carroll adds a touch of voodoo and heightens the melodramatic intensity. Jackson is solid as the charming, yet flawed womanizer and Whit-field his equal as the suspecting wife. Impressive, multi-layered directorial debut from Lemmons didn't draw much attention during theatrical run, but has gained a following since. 109m/C VHS, DVD . Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi (Deborah) Morgan, Diahann Carroll, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Vondie CurtisHall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jake Smol-lett, Ethel Ayler; D: Kasi Lemmons; W: Kasi Lem-mons; C: Amy Vincent; M: Terence Blanchard; Nar: Tamara Tunie. Ind. Spirit '98: First Feature, Support. Actress (Morgan).