Lifetime Films presents a new drama starring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. The drama displays some serious acting and a surprising plot twist that keeps audiences engaged.
Davis plays Lila, a single mother who experiences heartbreak when her son is caught in the cross-fire of a drive by shooting. The character is already dealing with her emotions regarding issues in her daily life, and now she feels that gun culture and the lack of law enforcement getting to the bottom of the case is both an emotional and psychological obstacle for her. Lila decides to join a support group of mother’s who have lost their children due to gun violence.
After the first session, she meets Eve (Lopez) and they find that they have a lot of life experience in common and they develop a relationship with each other that is based on friendship and support. The two become vigilantes and try to solve the case of the death of Lila’s son themselves. The new roles presented new challenges. In order to solve the crime, Lila has to kill several people connected to her son’s death, which puts her on the radar of the kingpin of the criminal organization. Also the police are trying to figure out who Lila is and how she is connected to the crimes taking place.
While the film does not advocate for violence, in the screenplay there is a running theme that individuals can take matters into their own hands when the system isn’t working. Some audiences will resonate with this idea and others may think it is too far-fetched. The theme helps Lila and Eve gain confidence throughout the film and also causes them to explore ideas of ethical behavior. Is it safe to go after the people that have killed your son? Most people would agree that this is a heartbreaking circumstance, but it should be left for the police to handle (no matter how long it takes). However, since the characters are ambitious and learn from every interaction they have with the supporting cast, it is easy to root for them to be successful from beginning, middle to end of the story.
Lila & Eve is very much an actor’s film. It is driven by the characterization of the two lead characters. The cinematography is not complex, it depicts realism in a stark way, much of the footage contains the inside of houses and building with dark colors, and a melancholy depiction of the streets. It is interesting that there is light in the building where the mother’s meet for their group; it is the sunniest part of the movie, and it is a brilliant decision that was probably made deliberately by the production.
Viola Davis is one of the strongest and most captivating actresses ever. For audiences who have seen her in other films, they will know what to expect from her artistry in this film. She does an excellent job with this role, she plays the part of Lila so well that it can cause an emotional response from the other actors and those of us with the privilege of downloading this film ( the production was released in 2015 and went straight to video-on-demand, it was never released in theaters).
Jennifer Lopez is extraordinarily talented. She is a singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, model, social media influencer and so much more. If you’re a Jennifer Lopez fan, you’ll be very pleased with this film because her acting is stellar.
There is one question that many fans of this film have: would this movie have been successful if they released it in theaters? The decision to make the movie downloadable rather than put in theaters occurred five years before the Covid-19 pandemic. While we’ll never know for sure, many places around the world are still having a difficult time, movies like Lila & Eve can help us through these troubling times.
After watching this film again in 2022, it remains socially relevant. The stark cinematography places emphasis on some very intense moments within the story’s plot. The secret twist in the movie is not something that can be easily guessed, and I found myself being struck by it each time I watched the film. Even though it did not receive a theatrical release, Lila and Eve is one of the most unique dramas to debut on video-on-demand.