“Lila & Eve” No Ordinary “Chick Flick”
By Skip Sheffield
When I saw “ChickFlicks” as a producing partner for the
Samuel Goldwyn Classic film “Lila & Eve,” I thought uh-oh. However, “Lila &
Eve,” which opens July 17 at Living Room Theaters, is anything but a standard
chick-flick romance. No, this is a grief, revenge and women’s solidarity story
written by Pat Gilfillan, directed by Charles Stone III and set in the present
in the “bad part” of Atlanta.
Viola Davis plays Lila, a single mom whose older son Stephon
(Ami Ameen) is shot dead by a stray bullet in a gang shooting. Lila joins a
support group of grieving mothers who subscribe to a 12-step program of dealing
with their anger and sorrow. Eve (Jennifer Lopez) is a member of the group who
is skeptical of the advice given, and storms out of a meeting. Lila confronts
Eve and asks her if she could be her sponsor.
“We aren’t real to them,” Eve says of Atlanta Police. “Hell,
they don’t even see us.”
Feeling powerless, Lila and Eve decide to take the law into
their own hands, with dangerous results. “Lila & Eve” is “Dirty Harry”
crossed with “Thelma and Louise.” It’s a short, tense ride through the mean
streets of Atlanta, with a surprising outcome.
“Palm Beach County During World War II”
Boca Raton Historical Society curator Susan Gillis is the
proud co-author of “Palm Beach County During World War II,” recently published
by Arcadia Publishing of Charleston, South Carolina. Gillis and co-authors Debi
Murray and Richard Marconi of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County will
present a short talk and book-signing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 22 at Old Town
Hall, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton.
“You could say I have wanted to do this since I first got
here in 2002,” said Susan Gillis last Thursday at Old Town Hall. “Last summer I
got together with my dear friends Debi and Richard and said why don’t we write
about World War II for all of Palm Beach County, not just Boca Raton Army
Airfield? The war affected people of all walks of life all over the county.
There was a submarine base in Jupiter; the Breakers Hotel became a hospital and
there was Morrison Field in West Palm Beach and the Lantana Airport, plus all
the civilian sub-spotters and Civil defense workers.”
The $21.95 soft-cover book is copiously illustrated with
vintage photographs lent by local citizens. Many of them have never been seen
before. While the Boca Raton Army Airfield (BRAAF) was by far the largest base
in South Florida, World War II affected all Floridians everywhere.
“If it weren’t for the Boca Raton Airbase we would not have
FAU or the present airport,” said Gillis. “The town was devastated when the air
base closed, but it made more than 6,000 acres of land available for
development. Boca Raton would not be the same without BRAAF.”
Community Cabaret
For entertainment of a lighter sort, there is another
Community Cabaret with 20 acts from teens to seniors at 7:30 p.m. July 22 at
the Willow Theatre of Sugar Sand Park, 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton.
Admission is just $5. Call 561-347-3900.
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