Kasi Lemmons wrote and directed "Eve's Bayou," with such precision that I'm astounded that she hasn't had anything as good since this feature. Orson Welles is still famous for "Citizen Kane" after which he never reached such heights again.Samuel L. Jackson is a doctor who has a monogamy problem, constantly cheating on his wife, played by Lynn Whitfield. They have two daughters, Eve of the title, Jurnee Smollett is awesome as the lead character of this story and her sister Cisely(Meagan Good) is also a charming child actress. The two worship their father but they eventually discover his shortcomings as a husband.The two young sisters steal this film, an absorbing, tragic family drama of Shakespearean proportions. Lemmons has created a memorable classic.

One of 1997's great films and winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the American indie opened to wide critical acclaim. Delicate and complex, it's not only a showcase for great acting but also a deeply affecting film about family, loneliness , and the line between right and wrong.Directed by Kasi Lemmons, who's worked mostly as an actress. ''Eve's Bayou'' is inspiring with its look at the resilience of the human spirit and the ways in which truth can clarify, transcend and redeem a broken life. Like Jim Sheridan's ''My Left Foot,'' ''Eve's Bayou'' delivers a full emotional palette without undue sentimentalizing.Although Debbi Morgan and Jurnee Smollet are stunning -- and are the highlights, the rest of the cast is equally powerful -- particularly Lynn Whitfield, Samuel L. Jackson all charming and powerful as Louis, and Meagan Good, rebellious yet complex as Cisely. There would be no great acting if the incredible screenplay weren't in tact. At the very least, Lemmons deserved an original screenplay nod. "Eve's Bayou" currently sits at # 24 in my Top 50 Films of the 90s. It's truly a great film that didn't the recognition it deserved (i.e. Academy Award nominations), so don't let it pass you by -- buy the Special Edition DVD.

"Eve's Bayou" is perfect down to the last detail, but lovers of popcorn movies may pass "Eve's Bayou" without notice. The film is, against all odds, hopeful even while quietly stirring outrage. It's a deceptively passive movie that quietly moves mountains behind the scenes. Under the skillful hand of writer-director Kasi Lemmons, layers are revealed -- the pain of loss, the wrath of secrets , the je ne sais quoi of contented family life -- all while building up to a shattering conclusion, Lemmons' movie is both outrageously schematic and powerfully humanist. "Eve's Bayou" is a marvel of character-driven drama that no serious film-goer should miss.

Kasi Lemmons' ''Eve's Bayou'' is a film that perplexes its viewers, even those who admire it, because it challenges the ways we attempt to respond to it. Is it a portrait of desperate human sadness? Then why are we so consumed? Is it a tragedy? Then why its tenderness with these lonely people? Is it about depravity? Yes, but why does it make us suspect, uneasily, that the depraved are only seeking what we all seek, but with a lack of ordinary moral vision? In a film that looks into the abyss of human despair, there is the horrifying suggestion that these characters may not be exceptions, but may in fact be part of the mainstream of humanity.Why see the film? ''Eve's Bayou'' is about its unhappy characters, in a way that helps us see them a little more clearly, to feel sorry for them, and at the same time to see how closely tragedy and farce come together in the messiness of life. Does ''Eve's Bayou'' exploit its controversial subjects (infidelity and incest)? Finally, no: It sees them as symptoms of desperation and sadness. These are the kinds of thoughts the film inspires. It is not a film for most people. It is certainly for mature film seekers only. But it shows Lemmons as a filmmaker who deserves attention, who hears the unhappiness in the air and seeks its sources.