Eve’s Bayou

Directed by Kasi Lemmons, Eve’s Bayou follows a young girl (Jurnee Smollett’s Eve) as she experiences a series of happenings within 1960s’ Louisiana. Filmmaker Lemmons, armed with her own screenplay, delivers an exceedingly (and sometimes excessively) deliberate endeavor that is, at least, elevated by its superb performances and compelling atmosphere, as, in terms of the latter, Smollett’s engaging, sympathetic turn as the central character goes a long way towards smoothing over the far-from-streamlined narrative’s bumps and lulls – with the actress’ terrific efforts certainly matched by an agreeable roster of scene-stealing periphery players (including Lynn Whitfield, Diahann Carroll, and Samuel L. Jackson). And while the picture does, for most of its overlong running time, suffer from a woeful arms-length quality, Eve’s Bayou admittedly builds towards a revelation-heavy, unexpectedly engrossing third act that ensures it concludes on a memorable, positive note – thus confirming the movie’s place as a decent-enough debut that feels like it could (and should) be a whole lot better.

**1/2 out of ****