The Eve's Bayou - Movie Review Example

ESSAY The movie “Eves Bayou” is a compelling story that is told by Eve who is ten year old who resides with her prominent family in Louisiana. The narrator is Eve as an adult telling the story of her family strife when she was a child. Eves character is played by talented Jurnee Smollett, and her fathers character is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Fidelity, love, loyalty and honesty is put to the test as a Eves family values are put to the test. The young girl Eve is forced to face situations that are best suited for an adult as she discovers the pain associated with finding out a loved ones betrayal. The young girl is inquisitive and her beliefs borderline on the supernatural. Her beliefs are shared by her Aunt Mozelle played by Debbi Morgan who has the power to foresee coming events of everyone surrounding her. Eves mother Roz played by Lynn Whitfield is a prominent modern woman in the community who also believes in the occult, without admitting to it. The old woman in town Elzora is played by Diahann Carroll who is a foreseer. The main characters intertwine throughout the movie , as their lives and relationships are put to the test. The protagonist in this tale of deceit and infidelity is the young girl Eve and the antagonist oddly enough is Eves father Mr.Louis Batiste. Young Eve discovers that her father is cheating on her mother, when one summer night during a party at their home , she catches a glimpse of her father with another woman. This proves to be very traumatic for the young Eve who idolized her father. The young girl proceeds to tell her sister Cicely played by Megan Good and her Aunt Mozelle. Eve begins to hate her father and despise his behavior towards her mother and her sister. The hate becomes more intense when she discovers that her father hurt her sister Cicely as told by her sister. Thus begins the young girls journey into voodoo as means of revenge against her father. Eve comments on killing her father, but it is discovered that this is not literally true. This is reflected by the attitude exhibited by eve towards her fathers ways and the measures she took to try and revenge his wrongdoings to the family. Thus Eve killed her father by losing her trust in him, generating hate for him after finding out his philandering ways. A sense of the occult is more than implied here, the setting being in Louisiana in 1962 and the family though modern is creole and has ties to voodoo and the supernatural as her aunt has visions about people. Aunt Mozelle interestingly enough has been married three times, all men dead as a result of curse , which she did not foresee as this is her forte. Eves mother, though modern has ties to the supernatural and occult, despite not actually practicing it since she her sister Mozelle openly practices it and explains it has existed in the family for ages. Images that Mozelle has of her clients when they approach are in black and white and depict events ongoing or about to happen. In one scene she holds one of her clients palms and sees a mans missing wife in the arms of another man. At one point Mozelle tells her sister Cicely of a vision she had involving a child being struck down by a car. Nonetheless despite her not completely being immersed in the practice she refuses her children to go out, for fear that they will be struck by a car. Eve goes into town to talk to the town foreseer Elzora about killing her father for the shame he has brought her and the family. The foreseer asks Eve if she is certain that is what she wants to do , although that is not what actually happens at the end of the movie. Thus we see a child on a quest to oust her father from her life after the betrayal to her and especially her mother. The situation is not made better when she discovers that her father has been cheating on her mother for years, with little or no reaction from her mother. Her mother is constantly in grief having given up on the situation and thus we see the young Eve take matters into her own hands. The occult is emphasized as Eve continues on her quest after discourage from her Aunt Mozelle. One can only hope that such anger would not exist in the heart of a child so young, but this is due to everything she ever believed in her father being questioned. Eves is hurled into this world due to anger and we assume that this would not have been the case had her idealistic views of her father never been put to the test. As the movie would have it, you get a sense of a struggle of authenticity in suite over whether Eves actions are justified or not, and whether the the town foreseer is helping the child in order to spite her Aunt Mozelle. There is in a sense a power struggle being ensued between Mozelle and Elzora over who has the greater power. There is a sense of magic and the supernatural throughout the movie and this makes it more authentic and compelling. The relationship between Eves older sister and her father is damaged and we learn that it is not her father who tired to seduce her, but it was she who instead tried to seduce him. Thus we see the sister slowly begin to unravel and as she further tarnishes her fathers image in her young sisters eyes. Relationships are put the test and the magic, occult and supernatural are a venue through which some of the members of the family choose to solve their problems. Unfortunately, the perception of the occult is not shared by everyone, however we do see the need of the young girl to discover this part of her culture as she embraces it primarily as a means of revenge. All in all, we get a sense of this being a part of the families heritage and culture. Eves mother who does not practice it like her sister Mozelle, believes as well but prides herself in being a woman of the modern times. Thus there is a conflict between culture and modern ways which is clear with reactions exhibited by Eves mother. At the very least , it seems the inquisitive Eve seems to have adopted what would have actually been her mothers calling in the world of magic and the supernatural. It intertwines with the fact that this is further complicated with her being married to a doctor who believes in science and not magic. Therefore you can clearly see that Eves mother choice to not practice the occult may have been in a large part due to her marriage to a man who is practicing medicine, and thus there would be no room for the occult, especially since he is a prominent man in the community. The characters in Eves Bayou are extremely intricate and they reflect problems that affect many families. However, matters are further complicated with the existence of voodoo in the families history. Thus a young girl takes a journey one summer , and finds that eve she ever believed in herself and her whole family is questioned. Eve though young understands tragically at the very end, the implications of her actions which by no means serve as a learning tool. Overall she feels her beliefs have been shuttered with recent revelations and can only hope to rectify the situation with the aid of magic. References Eves Bayou. Dir. Kassi Lemons. Perf. Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Megan Good, Jurnee Smollett, Debbie Morgan, Jake Smollett. 1997. DVD. Trimak, 2007. Read More