Lila and Eve is a movie that demanded subtlety but unfortunately was too heavy handed to fool anyone.

 Lila (Davis), a grieving mother of murdered son who befriends a woman at a victim support group, Eve (Lopez). Eve encourages a plan of vengeance upon all those associated with the murder of Lila’s son, and the two team up to bring fiery justice to the bad guys. Both Davis and Lopez showcase excellent acting chops but their talents are sadly misplaced in this film, which flops up a poor plot.

 SPOILERS BELOW! (But barely!)

 The plot twist of this movie would have been surprising and mind-blowing if the movie had been made before 1999. For those of you who are lacking a bit on movie trivia, that was the year that Fight Club was released. Need I say more? Where Fight Club masterfully dropped the most subtle trail of breadcrumbs (that most movie-goers missed even on a second viewing!), Lila and Eve leaves a trail like Godzilla’s footprints through a mangled Tokyo. The movie drags along to a conclusion that most viewers reached an hour ago. The entire film feels like its playing catch up. I was sincerely hoping that the breadcrumbs were intentionally obvious to create a red herring of sorts, making the viewer think that they had the movie figured out, then serving up a real shocker. But no dice. The obvious clues were just obvious clues and the ‘big’ conclusion was exactly the one I had come to at the 20 minute mark. Disappointing to say the least, and a definite film to skip.

Strong performances are wasted on an unoriginal plot.

1 pickle out of 4

– Jacob B. Li
@jumpswithelks

 If you haven’t already seen it, you MUST see Fight Club (1999)

If you like Viola Davis and smart action, check out Blackhat (2015)

If you like Jennifer Lopez check out Parker (2013) or my personal favourite of hers, Antz (1998)