Line #5 Film/EvesBayou


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0787.JPG]][[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine The secrets that hold us together can also tear us apart]]'']]
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3	->''"Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old."''
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5	A 1997 Southern Gothic drama directed by Creator/KasiLemmons and starring Creator/JurneeSmollett, Creator/SamuelLJackson, and Creator/LynnWhitfield.
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7	In 1962, Eve Batiste (Smollett), named for the founder of their hometown, is the middle child in one of Louisiana's most sophisticated and prosperous families. Her sister, Cisely, is 14 and her brother, Poe, is 9. Her father, Louis (Jackson), is a doctor, and her mother, Roz (Whitfield), minds the family. One night during a party, Eve catches her father with another woman, Mrs. Moreaux.
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9	Eve confides in her aunt Mozelle (Debbie Morgan), a sultry fortuneteller. The two are close due to a shared sense of the supernatural. And as Mozelle struggles with her own CartwrightCurse dilemma, the family is in for a summer that changes their lives forever. The movie was directed and written by Creator/KasiLemmons, and produced by Samuel L. Jackson.
10	----
11	!!Tropes:
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13	* AmbiguousSituation: The central plot of the movie. [[spoiler: Did Cisely kiss Louis, or did he abuse her?]] Conflicting accounts are given by those involved and the movie never gives a definitive answer either way. In the director's cut, there is an additional character who sees what happens, but he's mute, so no one else will ever know.
14	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In a rage, Eve goes to Elzora and commissions a curse to be put on her father, saying she was "For certain" that she wanted him to die [[spoiler: Well, he does, when he's shot to death]]. Also coupled with DidntThinkThisThrough, as she actually meant a voodoo doll to enact the curse.
15	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Cisely. She sneaks out of the house, goes to the hairdresser and gets a haircut despite being told to not leave the house and in one scene she mouths off to Grandmere and rolls her eyes at Roz.
16	* BookEnds: '' "The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old, my brother Poe was 9 and my sister Cisely just turned 14" ''.
17	* CartwrightCurse: Mozelle kind of has this problem.
18	* ExactWords: Older!Eve (through narration) begins the film by claiming the summer she's about to recount was the summer she killed her father. [[spoiler: This implies that she killed him herself, but as we see, it was her leaking of information that lead to someone else killing him]].
19	* FaintingSeer: Mozelle passes out after having a vision and interpreting it as one of the kids getting hit by a car. [[spoiler: Turns out Eve was falling because Louis pushed her out of the way of a gun before he was shot to death, and a train just so happened to be passing at that time. It didn't even hit her, it was just nearby]].
20	* FlatEarthAtheist: Louis and Cisely remain skeptical of Mozelle's precognition, despite her proven track record.
21	* GossipyHens: A few women at the Batistes' party in the beginning. They are even the rare variety that provides [[MrExposition exposition]], revealing to the audience that Mrs. Moreaux sleeps around and that Louis is the best colored doctor in Louisiana.
22	* HeroicBSOD: Mozelle after Elzora spitefully tells her that her next husband will die like the other three.
23	* HollywoodVoodoo: Generally averted. Hoodoo is accurately portrayed but is referred to as Voodoo (albeit by a little girl who probably doesn't understand the differences).
24	* HotWitch: Mozelle, seeing as she's considered quite attractive and was just as promiscuous as her brother, Louis.
25	* IWishedYouWereDead: [[spoiler:Eve goes to a voodoo priestess to find a way to kill her father; soon after, he is shot by Mrs. Moreaux's husband.]]
26	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: While Mozelle, Eve, and Elzora have genuine precognitive ability, whether or not their magic works beyond that is not clearly explained.
27	* MiddleChildSyndrome: How Eve feels compared to Cisely and Poe, feeling like TheUnfavorite. This is probably why she developed such a close bond with her aunt Mozelle, as her parents probably baby Poe and award more freedom to her Cisely.
28	* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: How Mozelle's secret lover dealt with her second husband.]]
29	* NeverTrustATrailer: One of the promo spots for the movie includes a woman telling Eve, "If you tell anyone, I swear I'll do you harm." It sounded like one of Louis' extramarital conquests seriously threatening Eve if she told anyone about it, though in reality it was her aunt, most likely speaking in hyperbole.
30	* NoodleIncident: It's not said exactly why or what lead to Elzora and Mozelle having bad blood.
31	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Cisely starts her menstrual period during the movie. And a VERY big deal is made of it, including showing her bloody underwear.
32	* NostalgicNarrator: Eve
33	* ParentalIncest: [[spoiler:Maybe. It's never truly known what happened between Cisely and Louis.]]
34	* PetTheDog: Mozelle's husband Harry's relationship with Eve.
35	* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery: Louis sleeps with quite a few of his female patients while on house calls, to the point that women feign illness just to be alone with him.
36	-->'''Louis''': Your lungs are as clear as a bell, Stevie. You're going to live.
37	-->'''Stevie''': Can you give me something for...''the pain?''
38	-->'''Louis''': Eve, go play outside. ''(Closes door)'' What pain is that, Stevie? (bom chicka wow-wow)
39	* TheRashomon: To some extent, with what happened between Cisely and Louis. Cisely claims [[spoiler: molested her]], while Louis' letter [[spoiler: that Cisely came onto him and he reacted violently]]. Eve does see what happened with her second sight but it's not revealed, leaving it up in the air.
40	* RealityIsUnrealistic: Lynn Whitfield is the only actor in the cast who's actually from Louisiana (born and raised in Baton Rouge), but she's also the only one who neither has a strong (fake) accent nor speaks French at any point in the movie (though it's implied that Roz understands it just fine).
41	* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Averted. Mozelle uses her powers to help people find missing loved ones.
42	* SceneryPorn: The eponymous bayou is almost a character itself.
43	* ShowDontTell: This rule is violated when Eve finds an undelivered letter written by Louis to Mozelle, his sister. According to the letter, the two had a heated argument where [[spoiler: Mozelle accused Louis of raping Cicely, and Louis wrote her the letter afterwards when he was calm enough to explain his side of the story]]. It would have been nice to ''see'' the argument, since the two siblings had next to no direct interaction in the movie.
44	* SouthernGothic
45	* StepfordSmiler: Roz had tried her best to keep everything looking happy and normal despite knowing full well her husband is a total whore. Much of the movie deals with her facade breaking.
46	* TemptingFate: When a cuckolded husband, who is CLEARLY drunk and very angry, tells you not to speak to his wife again under threat of death...it is wisest to err on the safe side.
47	* TheSixties: The film takes place in 1962.
48	* TooDumbToLive: Louis. Despite Lenny warning him that he'll kill him if he talks to Matty again, he decides to talk to her anyway. Let's just say that Lenny wasn't bluffing.
49	* WallBangHer: How Louis and Mrs. Moreaux get it on in the carriage house.
50	* WickedWitch: Elzora is a voodoo-flavored one. She and Mozelle have some unexplained bad blood, and she likes scaring children for laughs.
51	* WidowWitch: Mozelle, who has gone through three husbands at the start of the movie.
52	* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:The movie's most pivotal scene hinges on the fact that neither Louis nor Cisely remember exactly what happened the night their unhealthily-close relationship went too far.]]

Context Film / EvesBayou