St. Louisan's Movie Has The Feel of Ingmar Bergman

Calvin Wilson - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In the 1990s, African-American filmmakers began to attract the kind of attention that had long eluded them. That was due in no small part to the high profiles of directors Spike Lee and John Singleton, who brought an energy to the screen that reflected a fresh, urban sensibility.

Indeed, Lee's stylish "Do the Right Thing," which actually came out in 1989, was considered an essential document of its era, and Singleton's gritty "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) quickly became associated with a certain inner-city despair.

The two films inspired numerous imitators, with confused or angry young men at their centers. But "Eve's Bayou," released in 1997 and written and directed by native St. Louisan Kasi Lemmons, was gloriously against the grain. Set in the rural South of the 1960s and involving a middle-class family, it's the story of a young girl, Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), and her coming of age.

Particularly important to the plot is Eve's relationship with her father, Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), a doctor who is also a philanderer. But her sister Cisely (Meagan Good) and mother, Roz (Lynn Whitfield), also play key roles in the ensuing drama.

Early on, Eve comments that "memory is a selection of images," and among the film's assets is Lemmons' ability to choose just the right ones to keep us intrigued.

Considering the persuasiveness with which Lemmons evokes the catfish-and-crawdaddy atmosphere of Louisiana, it's hard to believe that "Eve's Bayou" was her debut feature. It's been noted that its look is reminiscent of the works of the late director Ingmar Bergman. That sort of classicism is not what one would have expected from an African-American director in the '90s.

And the cast is first-rate, with Smollett acquitting herself well opposite the impressive Jackson. It's a good bet that Lemmons' background as an actress -- including roles in "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hard Target" -- had a lot to do with bringing out the best in the ensemble.

"Eve's Bayou" was a hit not just critically, but commercially. The film also proved to be popular with black and white audiences alike. Lemmons reteamed with Jackson for "The Caveman's Valentine" (2001), an offbeat tale of a homeless man who's determined to solve a murder. Jackson's performance earned praise, and Lemmons demonstrated a sure feel for the mystery genre and its idiosyncracies. But some critics found "Valentine" too formulaic.

Lemmons' latest film, the fact-based "Talk To Me" (2007), was arguably her most conventional. Don Cheadle starred as Petey Greene, a legendary Washington media personality. Balancing comedy and drama, Lemmons captured the look and spirit of the 1960s entertainingly and more effectively than the larger-budgeted "Dreamgirls." But the film lacked the personal touch that fans have come to expect from Lemmons' work.

Like Lee's "She's Gotta Have It," Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise" and Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets," Lemmons' debut announced a talent that moviegoers would have been unwise to ignore.

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