Kasi Lemmons | Harriet vs. Eve's Bayou?

Kasi Lemmons (Actress, Director and Producer)

Harriet vs. Eve's Bayou

EVE'S BAYOU

"Memory is a selection of images - some elusive. Others, printed indelibly on the brain. Each image is like a thread. Each thread woven together to make a tapestry of intricate texture. And the tapestry tells a story, and the story is our past." - Eve's Bayou (1997)

Harriet versus Eve's Bayou? SO WHAT?!

I am a proud '90s baby. This pride exist because I am happy that I can say I did not miss out on late 20th century wave of Black creatives developing and showcasing their diverse works - creating spaces for others to situate themselves in media. Allowing for big-headed kids like me to see ourselves on the big screen. While there are plenty of films I can rant about, I wanted to pay special attention to one of my all-time underrated favorites. Then, I want to highlight a later work from the same director in mention.

Though, I am going to just be honest - I am biased. For a looooooong time, I have had a hard time putting anything up against the masterpiece that is in fact my favorite film to date - and NOW the time has finally come for me to review another piece of work directed by the same director!

See, I have been a fan of Kasi Lemmons' work since the endless memorable scenes in her debut film, Eve's Bayou (1997). Like its opening lines, this film was printed indelibly on my tiny under-ten-year-old brain. It is a well-written feature full of images that Lemmons depicted on screen with careful direction. Below are only some of the film's images that followed me well into my adulthood.

Mainstream Movie Ratings

IMDb: 7.3 / 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 81%

METACRITIC: 78%

My Review

10/10, 100%

(I warned you, I am biased - but by all means, keep reading!)

R A T I O N A L E

Eve's Bayou feels like a full-course meal, complete with dessert. An audience can distinguish from the appetizer (opening scenes of the film) right to the juicy main course. Inherently, woven in Eve's Bayou is a rich and layered subplot that becomes a character of its own. Ooooozing with the mystery of New Orleans nestled in a Creole community in 1960s rural Louisiana (underlined description borrowed from the movie synopsis itself)! Dynamic actors and actresses (yes, all of them) blessed the screen with timely mannerisms and natural interactions that allowed an audience to be completely engulfed in a complex narrative of conflicting interpretations of events. SOLD! Hundred percent rating! Moving right along . . .

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HARRIET

"Many of you don't know slavery first-hand. But I remember. I've heard their groans, heard their tears. . . I would give every last drop of blood in by veins until this monster called slavery is dead!" - Harriet (2019)

I have watched Harriet twice. The first time, I was ready to be sold. And, in a sense, I was. I convinced myself that this story was important to the American fabric. Of course, because it is. Though, I could not shake the criticisms of Cynthia Erivo. Erivo, a Nigerian-British actress, has been noted for saying questionable things about Black American people. As a fan of historical pieces and Kasi Lemmons, I pushed those critiques aside and decided I would sit my butt in a seat and enjoy what was to offer.

Here are a few memorable scenes from Harriet (no spoilers).

Actor to Look out For: Henry Hunter Hall (Featured Below)

I could not find any pictures of Hall's scenes, but I certainly have to say his role was a silent hit and a necessary thread to this featured film. His deliverance in his role added a layer of believability and urgency that sometimes felt missing within the plot.

Mainstream Movie Ratings

IMDb: 6.1 / 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 73%

METACRITIC: 66%

My Review

5 /10, 50%

(I had a hard time with this film and truly wished I could give it a higher rating)

R A T I O N A L E

Harriet, somehow, feels like an incomplete meal. While it captures such a wide range of time and history in 2 hours and 5 minutes, it somehow does not feel whole. After witnessing Harriet's fainting spell, an audience is immediately thrown into the urgency of the need for liberation for enslaved people when confronted by the lack of a simple human right - to bare free children. Though, this sense of urgency becomes lost as the plot fails to capture the "living and breathing" Harriet Tubman. Speaking for myself, I could not connect with the Harriet depicted in this film. I suppose I was searching for a Harriet that felt powerful even in her silence - especially in her silence, considering the context of escaping such a brutal institution as enslavement. At times, the scenes felt too powerful for Cynthia Erivo. There is an obvious commitment to carrying the legacy of Harriet Tubman woven in Erivo's performance. Though, as an audience member, I was constantly reminded that she was simply acting. The subplots and supporting characters functioned like tasty snacks leading to the final scene of this featured film. I enjoyed tension-driven performances by Janelle Monae, Henry Hunter Hall, Leslie Odom Jr. and others. Inherently (no pun intended), as set in Maryland during enslavement, Joe Alwyn played his role of a morally conflicted slave-owner very well.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Film Aesthetics and the Possible Missing Elements

In the film Harriet, Lemmons did not abandon her mystic touch that gives Eye's Bayou its texture. In fact, this mystic touch was perfect when it comes to highlighting Tubman's occasional fainting "spells" brought on by being struck in the head in her childhood - a head injury when an overseer threw a two-pound metal weight at another enslaved person who was attempting to flee. As stated in the film, Harriet believed that these spells (epileptic seizures, in reality) brought her closer to hearing from God; voice and images that allowed her to miraculously navigate the Underground Railroad first alone and with others that she sought after. This adds a promising spiritual layer to the film that introduces "visions" as a part of Harriet's pursuit of freedom for enslaved people. So, with the promising content to work with, why was this film rated lower than Kasi Lemmon's debut film?

Perhaps, it felt too distant from a contemporary (often critical) audience that may have needed clever depictions of visions and foreshadowing (like those woven in Eve's Bayou) that could have given more personality to Harriet Tubman - a human connection beyond simply attempting to depict her as the living legend that she was? She often felt self-righteous toward other enslaved people - contrary to her initial interaction with Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monae) - and far-removed from those she declared she had not forgotten about in her freedom during her speech with abolitionists (that included Frederick Douglass).

I am left wondering how tender moments of her childhood could have been depicted on screen to build a sense of time, character development and finally; the rigorous and dangerous road to freedom.

F O R _ T H E _ R E C O R D

The opening Eve's Bayou quote is certainly one of the best movie quotes of all times. No discussion necessary.