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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 1997)
T he P ortland O bserver • N ovember 5, 1997 P age B3 (Tlie JJo rtlan h © bseruer ■ rh h ENTERTAINMENT Eve s Bayou Memory is a selection of images. Some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, 1 was ten years old..." --Eve Batiste A c tr e s s - w r ite r - d ir e c to r K a si Lem m ons' d ire c to ria l debut. E ve 's Lynn Whitfield stars as Roz Batiste and her children are portrayed by (l-r) Meagan Good as Cisely, Jake Smollett as Poe and Jurnee Smollett as Eve. Jurnee Smollett, left, portrays Eve Batiste Bayou, is a deeply p oetic so jo u rn through Tennessee W illia m s co u n try -- a moss draped landscape w hich is e v o c a tiv e ly Southern in its o rie n ta tio n . U sin g the p o in t-o l- v icw o f the ten ye a r-o ld Eve to te ll her story. L e m m o n s' a m b itio u s in dependent p ro d u ctio n uses a pas lic h e o l stunning im ages.em ployed like verses o f p oetry, to create a h a u n tin g ly b e a u tifu l p o rtra it o f the seem ingly prosperous and m o ra lly com plex B atiste fa m ily S ta rtlin g ly o rig in a l in its tone and structure. E ve 's Bayou has its roots in a w om an's Southern G o th ic tra d itio n that encompasses such w orks as "To K ill a M o c k in g b ird " and A Streetcar Named D e s ir e " and. though p h y s ic a lly set in a sm all, backw ater L o u isia n a c o m m u n ity . the true to p o g ra p h y o f E ve's Bayou is a locale som ewhere between the m a te ria l and s p iritu a l w orlds, w here tru th anil its percep non can change shape, depending on the lig h t o f day E ve ’ s Bayou celebrates a fu ll spectrum o f w om anhood w ith a depth and freshness (hat is a ll too rare, even in independent cinem a. Be it the b o n d in g that goes on be tween sisters or an a u n t's g u id in g re la tio n sh ip w ith her niece. E ve 's Bavou m o v in g ly recounts a young g irl's passage to kn o w le d g e o ver the course o f a sum m er. Sell assured in its story tel ling anil u n w illin g to settle fo r easy narrative answers. Eve's Bayou marks the aus picious w ritin g -d ire ctin g debut o f ac tress Kasi Lemmons Lynn Whitfield, left, is Roz Batiste and Debbi Morgan, right is her sister-in-law, Mozelle Batiste Delacroix. Diahann Carroll, is Elzora. Lem m ons' experience as an ac tress is cle a rly e vid e nt in the su perb perform ances that populate E ve's Bayou. By te llin g the story o f the B atiste fa m ily thro u g h the eyes o f the ten y e a r-o ld E ve, Lem m ons set h e rse lf the a m b itio u s task o f creating a c h ild protagonist w h o em bodied equal parts in n o cence and preeociousness. As Eve, Jurnee S m o lle tt portrays a g irl who is b rim m in g w ith provocative ques tio n s and in te llig e n c e but do e sn 't fu lly understand then im p lica tio n s T e llin g a story through the eyes o f a c h ild is no sm all feat, but Lem m ons handles it w ith the e x pertise o f a s k ille d craftsm an. But cre d it must also be given to n e w com er Jurnee S m o lle tt, w ho brings Eve to the screen w ith a ll the c o n fidence and su b tle ty o f a seasoned actress and the innocence and w ide- eyed w onderm ent o f a c h ild . T ra v e lin g in the wake o f her s o p h is ti cated o ld e r sister C ise ly (M eagan G o o d ). Eve searches fo r her id e n tity w ith in a fa m ily whose ow n em o tio n a l center is in constant state o f flu x . But is perhaps these c ir cum stances w h ich serves as a cala lyst lo r the young actress' e x tra o r d in a ry perform ance. As Eve m a tures from a c h ild in to an adult o v e rn ig h t, so to o does Jurnee S m o lle tt whose perform ance is as m em orable as it is mature. A n o th e r goal o f Lem m ons was to infuse her characters w ith the p la in tiv e rh yth m s and c o m p le x i ties that are d is tin c tly Southern. S a m u e l L . J a c k s o n , w it h Ins la isse zla ire charism a, manages to make L o u is B atiste a sym pathetic fig u re . There is d im e n sio n to his ch aracter because Le m m o n s, as both w rite r and d ire c to r, has taken pains to m ake sure Ja ckso n /L o u is is not s im p ly a “ g o o d ” o r " b a il" man We see d ial L o u is cle a rly adores his fa m ily , bul is also an unrepentant w o m a n ize r. As Jack son observes. "W om en feed I .o u is' ego. M aybe he sees u as h is c o n s o la tio n lo r not h a vin g an im p o rta n t m e dical p ra ctice in a big c ity ." J a c k s o n ’ s w if e . R o z ( L y n n W h itfie ld ) is the lu ll e m b o d im e n t o f southern elegance and beauty an ideal m other. D e scrib in g Roz to his daughter Eve. I .ouis says, "sh e 's the m ost b e a u tifu l, perfect w om an I ever m e t." yet her fo rm id a b le charm s are evid e n tly not enough to keep L o u is fro m w a ndering. W ith the econom y o f a poet. Lem m ons uses the strengths o f her ensemble to eloquently Bash out her story. She understands dial it is the details in her characters' lives that imbue the drama w ith em otion and resonance. The power o f a look, a lu rtive glance exchanged between Eve anil her sister C isely, speaks volumes about thecircum sianceslhal e n g u lf them. Even a simple gesture, such as holding hands, becomes anil eloquent form o f com m unication in the film . W o rkin g as a seer Eve's aunt M o ze lla (D ebbi M organ) uses hand-holding as a bridge to the s p iri tual w o rld In a lovely grace not at the end o f die film . Eve emulates her aunt. By taking C is e ly ’ s hands in order to seek the truth, she ultim ately transform s the gesture into a com to ttin g show o f solidarity w ith her sister. C reole c u ltu re 's embrace o f vo o doo p ro vid e s a fa scin a tin g o ther w o rld ly aspect to the s to ry te llin g in E ve 's B ayou L e m m o n s' char acters may liv e and breathe in the m a te ria l w o rld , bul regardless ol w h ether they believe in il o r not. th e ir live s are touched by the s p in lual Eoi exam ple, you have L o u is, a p h ysicia n , a healer, w h o solves problem s lo g ic a lly using his m e d i cal expertise. Fin (,'zz/author Immature an excellent job of describing what the major media either cannot do or does not want to discuss—a good Black man" in his new novel A Do Right Man If. as they say, the greatest jo u r ney begins w ith a single step, then Immature has just taken the b ig gest step o f then lives. By now, the w orld has come to know Batman, Romeo, and L D B , w atching them grow from precocious children to fine young men. The three have also blossomed into superb m usi -Jawanza k u riju fu , a u tho r o f (food /frothers looking /or ( iootl Sisters cians and expressive artists in ju st a short span i f years. But people, get ready: w ith their fourth and newest M C A album The Journey, Immature steps up and steps out w ith their most s trik in g ly soulful TEARS OF JOY THEATRE album yet. Ellis tim e, the trio w orked w ith several world-class producers, per formers. and songwriters to help them out, including K eith Sweat. Rodney and Fred Jerkins. B izzy Bones from Bone Thugs <k H a r mony, Dazz o f the Dogg Pound, and o f course Im m ature’ s long tim e p ro d u c e r/m e n to r C h ris Stokes. M oreover, L D B has taken on more lead vocal chores, lend ing greater depth to the group s vocal m ix. M ost im portant o f all. the members o f Im mature e n v i sioned a new kind o f album that Celebrating 25 Years of Puppetry in the Northwest! LDB reflected the grow th they them selves have undergone. " W e ’ ve matured in our voices, in our m u sic. e ve ryth in g ," says Marques Batman" Houston. "O n this a l bum we wanted a lot o f beautiful ballads. We think our fans have been w aiting to hear something slow ." Slow, but rocksteady. The album actually kicks o ff w ith one o f the most adventurous tracks ever from Immature, “ G ive Up The Ghost," which features Bizzy Bones W ith its eerie vocal counterpoint and rhythmic dazzle, the song show cases Immature's expanded range Omar Tyree lias done ROMEO BATMAN G ÀLQ W V Ù f V Come Explore A Balloon Bouquet or A Gift Basket! 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