T he P ortland O bserver • N ovember 5, 1997
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(Tlie JJo rtlan h © bseruer
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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
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