Over the course of a long, hot Louisiana summer, a 10-year-old black girl, Eve Batiste, discovers that her family's affluent existence is merely a facade. She can not forget a traumatic incident she witnessed and shares a secret with her older sister. Lies start to roll...
An intensely emotional drama that mixes elements of Southern Gothic with the kinds of characters and tensions that prevail in the plays of Southern writers like Tennessee Williams.
Ken Fox
TV Guide
March 19, 2008
Lemmons' focus on strong female characters, and her willingness to ignore accepted notions of "black filmmaking" are powerful assets, but one can't help wishing the film as a whole lived up to its initial promise.
Subplots are woven stealthily into the story, taking the pressure off the central drama, allowing it to be affecting rather than melodramatic, and heightening the atmosphere of the lush Louisiana setting.
