Word: bayou
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Soul Food's early success bodes well for other forthcoming black-themed, black-produced, modestly budgeted films, notably Eve's Bayou (produced by actor Samuel L. Jackson and due out Oct. 24). It also sets the table for two black-produced films with blockbuster potential: Amistad (produced by Debbie Allen and directed by Steven Spielberg) and Beloved (produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Jonathan Demme). And finally, it's a welcome little victory for cinematic wholesomeness. "Some of the black films today are not deep," says filmmaker George Tillman Jr., 28, who wrote and directed Soul Food, basing...
...sexual antics or, preferably, all three. Debbie Allen, producer of Amistad, a film about a real-life 19th century slave revolt, spent several years looking for backers before Spielberg signed on to direct it (the film will be out in December). Kasi Lemmons, writer-director of Eve's Bayou--which deals with family secrets, sisterly friendship and voodoo--had a similar experience. "We were turned down by everyone," says Lemmons. "They all said they loved the script, and then they'd say, 'Who is the audience for this film?'" Eve's Bayou finally won backing from Trimark--and a slender...
Once is a fluke, twice a hope, three times a trend. So, with the pretty box-office numbers for Soul Food following the $70 million that Waiting to Exhale earned in early '96, and with the highly touted Eve's Bayou opening in two weeks, maybe Hollywood will stop being surprised every time the black middle class goes to see itself on screen...
...attractive, adulterous man; a woman trying to preserve her family; a child who sees and remembers too much. The same elements presented so coarsely in Soul Food come piercingly alive in Eve's Bayou. From the opening voice-over--"The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old"--the film weaves a spell of magnolia and menace. This 10-year-old is Eve (Jurnee Smollett), second daughter of Dr. Louis Batiste (Samuel L. Jackson) and his elegant wife Roz (Lynn Whitfield). Louis pushes charm as much as pills, and the local ladies swoon at his touch...
Jackson wears Louis' shroud suavely; he can seduce everyone except Eve. But this is a woman's film, and a showcase for superb actresses. Morgan does especially fine work as a sorceress whose gift runs away with her. The poise and passion in Eve's Bayou leave one grateful, exhausted and nourished. For the restless spirit, here is true soul food...