Part of Beloved: A Spotlight Series on Black Female Directors
Sat, Mar 4 at 12:00pm: Post-screening discussion with Claudine Taaffe, Senior Lecturer and Associate Chair & Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University | BUY TICKETS
During a sweltering Louisiana summer, 10-year-old Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), discovers that her family’s prestigious reputation is merely an illusion. Her father Louis, a debonair doctor, (Samuel L. Jackson), cracks the family’s perfect facade, causing emotional pandemonium for Eve’s mother, Roz (Lynn Whitfield) and teenage sister, Cisely (Meagan Good). Eve discovers consolation in the company of her whimsical, psychic aunt, Mozelle (Debbi Morgan)
“A film of astonishing maturity and confidence…. EVE’S BAYOU resonates in the memory. It called me back for a second and third viewing. If it is not nominated for Academy Awards, then the academy is not paying attention. For the viewer, it is a reminder that sometimes films can venture into the realms of poetry and dreams.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (1997) “The notable accomplishment of actress-writer Kasi Lemmons (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) 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.” —Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly (Nov 7, 1997) “It's got a rip-roaring story. It sweeps you along, borne effortlessly by believable if flawed characters, as it flows toward the inevitable tragedy. But it's also got a heart: It watches as a child harsh of judgment learns that judgment is too easy a posture for the world, and it's best to love with compassion.” —Stephen Hunter, Washington Post (Nov 7, 1997)
