Lila & Eve

While this film won't win an Academy Award or any other glamorous award for that matter, it is a good film. The cast, for the most part, is what makes it as good as it is. The emotion and drama that's displayed by Viola Davis' character is flawless. Viola Davis, as usual, gives a wonderful performance in this film along side Jennifer Lopez. Although Jennifer Lopez's performance isn't as high caliber as Viola Davis' they both made a great pair in this film. Not anything different or original, this film is about two women who seek out and take revenge on the men who murdered their sons, it's that simple, or is it. Fairly written with some drama and a nice plot twist this film is enough to be enjoyed.

The morality of revenge has been used as theme in many occasions, Kevin Bacon and Jodie Foster have made similar works before. While it doesn't necessarily innovate crime genre, Lila & Eve works by displaying the intimate issue with strong performance. It's a story about two mothers seeking justice, yet ultimately absorbed by the vengeance in an attempt to cope with the overwhelming sadness.

Viola Davis as Lila is easily the best asset of the movie. She's completely believable as the grieving mother, often seen hurt and confused in highly sympathetic manner. She can draw audience interest and even suspense judgment as she dabbles in less savory acts. Since the movie almost entirely revolves around her trial, it's a boon to have a reliable lead.

Jennifer Lopez has a mixed record in acting. There are a couple of good movies when she delivered, but most of the material she worked were mismatches. The most advantage she has is she can appear to be not glamorous, as in Parker and The Boy Next Door. With Viola Davis, the chemistry is definitely present, she appears to be an integral part of Lila's story than just a guest star.

The movie is not without flaws though. It's hampered with a few crude developments. They can be a bit problematic, although not entirely jumping towards one-man-army action theme or overly bloody violence. Furthermore, the plot twist it tries to pull is predictable and it could've been more refined or subtle in its delivery.

Unfortunately, many elements of the movie are notoriously cliché. The vigilante thriller and the chasing cop aspect feel much too familiar. However, Lila & Eve has enough private sentiment to be emotionally engaging even though the cause might not be just.

It's a touching and dramatic theme, and for that alone it has some merit and will appeal to some more than others. The movie feels a bit slow in the beginning, with the heavy drama, until it picks up about 40 minutes into it. Once I've made it that far, I became more interested and of course wanted to see how it ended. There was also a surprise that caught me off guard. Not the movie I'd save for the weekend, but it was satisfactory to watch overall. I thought that Viola and Jennifer did a good job.

One thing that the movie didn't do so well is the relationship between characters. Of course it's expected that the focus should be on the mother, but their interactions with others would have more depth if they developed the other characters a bit more.

Nice movie. I won't give away any spoilers here, but there were a couple of nice turns with J Lo and what happened at the end with women's group and the cop. There were several other movies this reminded me of, but I won't tell because it could spoil it for you. The acting was nice and impressive. There were a few slow scenes and the women tracking down of some of the hoods was a little too easy, but overall it was worth watching.

Solid Revenge Chick-Flick Starring the ever Intense Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez giving another Workmanlike Performance, an Underrated Actress Lopez usually brings Spunk and believability for aggressive Females Everywhere.

The Movie is a bit Different, in the Thelma and Louise (1991) tradition of Two Women Driven beyond sanity and into a World that is distinctively Not Their Own. After Her Son is Innocently Gun Downed in a Drive-By, Viola Davis' Grief Cannot Comfort Her loss and She Snaps into Action with the Help of Her "Sponsor" Lopez.

What happens is Cathartic and Violent and ends With a Twist or Two. Engaging, Entertaining, and Well Done. This is an Unknown, Little-Seen Indie that is Worth a Watch for the Topical Story and better than Average presentation of a Mother's Pain and Revenge.