- Eve's Bayou
Infobox Film
name = Eve's Bayou
caption = VHS cover
director =Kasi Lemmons
producer = Bobby Rock,Caldecot Chubb , Cami Winikoff, Eli Selden, Jay Polstein, Julie Yorn, Margaret Matheson,Mark Amin , M. Cevin Cathell, Michael Bennett, Nick Wechsler,Samuel L. Jackson
writer = Kasi Lemmons
starring =Debbi Morgan Jurnee Smollett Lynn Whitfield Meagan Good
Samuel L. Jackson
music =Terence Blanchard
cinematography = Amy Vincent
editing =Terilyn A. Shropshire
distributor =Trimark Pictures
released = flagicon|USNovember 7 ,1997
runtime = 109 min.
country = U.S.A.
language = English
gross = $14,842,388 [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=evesbayou.htm, Box Office Mojo]
amg_id = 1:158663
imdb_id = 0119080"Eve's Bayou" is a 1997 drama film written and directed by
Kasi Lemmons , who made her directorial debut with this feature.Samuel L. Jackson starred in the film (and served as a producer as well) alongsideDebbi Morgan ,Jurnee Smollett ,Lynn Whitfield , andMeagan Good .Plot
Eve (Smollett) is the youngest daughter of one of
Louisiana 's most sophisticated and prosperous families. Her father Louis (Jackson), is the town's highly respected doctor, a man known for his ability to "fix" things — everything except his own family problems and philandering lifestyle. Her mother Roz (Whitfield) is a stunning southern beauty with an affinity for the traditions of Creole heritage. But Eve is most like her Aunt Mozelle (Morgan) — impulsive, intuitive, a touch supernatural and possessing the need to know the truth about everything. Over one explosive summer, this young girl uncovers some of her family's most frightening hidden truths, and then tries to bind them together against the tide of tragedy. Insight uncovers some frightening truths about her family, and must bring them together to avert tragedy.Cast
*
Jurnee Smollett — Eve Batiste
*Debbi Morgan — Mozelle Batiste Delacroix
*Diahann Carroll — Elzora
*Lisa Nicole Carson — Matty Mereaux
*Lynn Whitfield — Roz Batiste
*Meagan Good — Cisely Batiste
*Roger Guenveur Smith — Lenny Mereaux
*Samuel L. Jackson — Louis Batiste
*Vondie Curtis-Hall — Julian Grayraven
*Branford Marsalis — Harry
*Carol Sutton — Madame Renard
*Ethel Ayler — Gran Mere
*Jake Smollett — Poe Batiste
*Leonard L. Thomas — Maynard
*Victoria Rowell — Stevie HobbsReception and Impact
The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with esteemed film critic
Roger Ebert naming it the best film of 1997. [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971107/REVIEWS/711070303/1023, Eve's Bayou, rogerebert.com]CNN 's Paul Tatara, Empire,Entertainment Weekly , TheLos Angeles Times ,The New York Observer ,The New York Times , TIME, Variety, andThe Washington Post also loudly praised the film and it's performances. Though not nominated for any Academy Awards, the film did receive many accolades.Debbi Morgan 's performance would be her most honored film role, with four nominations and two wins. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005247/awards, Debbi Morgan - Awards] The film is also noted forJurnee Smollett 's performance; up to this point, she had worked primarily as a TV actress, with "Jack" previously being her only film.In
February 2008 , "Eve's Bayou" madeTIME 's list of The 25 Most Important Films on Race. [http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1709148_1709143_1709669,00.html, Eve's Bayou (1997) - The 25 Most Important Films on Race - TIME]Awards & nominations
1997 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
*Best Child Performance —Jurnee Smollett (winner)1997 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
*Best Supporting Actress —Debbi Morgan (winner)1997 National Board of Review Awards
*Outstanding Directorial Debut —Kasi Lemmons (winner)1997 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
*Best Supporting Actress — Jurnee Smollett (winner)1998 Acapulco Black Film Festival
*Best Actor —Samuel L. Jackson (winner)
*Best Director — Kasi Lemmons (winner)
*Best Film (winner)
*Best Soundtrack (nominated)1998 Independent Spirit Awards
*Best First Feature —Caldecot Chubb , Kasi Lemmons, Samuel L. Jackson (winner)
*Best Supporting Female — Debbi Morgan (winner)1998 NAACP Image Awards
*Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture — Samuel L. Jackson (nominated)
*Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture —Lynn Whitfield (nominated)
*Outstanding Motion Picture (nominated)
*Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture —Vondie Curtis-Hall (nominated)
*Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture — Debbi Morgan (nominated)
*Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress — Jurnee Smollett (nominated)
*Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress —Meagan Good (nominated)1998 Satellite Awards
*Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Drama) — Samuel L. Jackson (nominated)
*Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Drama) — Debbi Morgan (nominated)
*Outstanding Cinematography — Amy Vincent (nominated)1998 Young Artist Awards
*Best Performance in a Feature Film (Leading Young Actress) — Jurnee Smollett (nominated)1998 YoungStar Awards
*Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film — Jurnee Smollett (nominated)
*Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film — Meagan Good (nominated)References
External links
*imdb title|id=0119080|title=Eve's Bayou
*metacritic film|id=evesbayou?q=Eve's%20Bayou|title=Eve's Bayou
*rotten-tomatoes|id=eves_bayou|title=Eve's Bayou
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