Black Snake Moan (includes trailer and interview)
May 7th 2010 00:18
Here comes fun!
Black Snake Moan is a pure ride of hot and dirty times done good. Part sin, part salvation. Part sexually electrified exploitation, part morality fable. Like a blues man channelling the darkest of spirits, Black Snake Moan is a night of singing, dancing, hard drinking, hard, sweaty sex all followed by a word of fashionable preaching from the good book.
Black Snake Moan tells the tale of an old black farmer in the south named Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson), who is battling some demons after his wife has turned her back on him for Lazarus’s brother. Christina Ricci (Monster, Buffalo 66) plays Rae a dirty little white girl who goes crazy if she can’t find someone to have sex with. After a night of sex and drugs Rae is beaten and left for dead on a dirt road. Lazarus finds her and heals her up, but after she tries to jump his bones, upon finding out about her reputation as the town hussy, he chains this nymphomaniac up to his radiator, committed to leading her to salvation with the bible and expelling her of this demon.
Written and directed by Craig Brewer, who gave us ‘Hustle & Flow’, his poem to southern hip hop music. This time round Delta Blues music from the 20’s and 30’s is at the heart of Black Snake Moan. We begin with an excerpt from old time blues man ‘Son House’ talking about the Blues with a hellish conviction which makes him sound possessed. We meet Rae and her boyfriend Ronnie, played by Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog, Southland Tales), these two young lovers lie deep in their trailer, blaring music and just getting it on. Ronnie then leaves for the army, a jittery wreck. Rae feels abandoned, with an itch coming on and wonders into town.
Black Snake Moan is in love with everything that encompasses the south. The music, which includes numbers by R.L. Burnside, The Black Keys, Junior Kimbrough and others blues scorchers that seem to bring everyone together as a community. The atmosphere of the South is hot and smokey, poor and sun-scorched. The vivid cinematography of Amelia Vincent keeps the film visually engaging, with it’s saturated primary colours that keep the images in heat. What Brewer does so well is take a sensational premise and gives it enough depth that the characters all have a heart, they seem like they could each have their own movie. While the story has an over the top concept of raunch and race, the film never feels purely exploitative – it has it’s own agenda, which is just a fun time for everyone, not taking itself too seriously. As for Christina Ricci – she’s wild in this, sexy as all hell.
While I loved ‘Black Snake Moan’, one could argue that some of it’s flaws are the moral stances which bombard their way around the film, with the cliché of redemption thrown in too for good measure, it doesn’t bother me personally, but the film perhaps draws a little too much attention to it’s own sense of righteousness. While Ricci is fantastic as usual, giving a genuinely interesting performance that gives her character a sense of familiarity, the same cannot be said for the films two male leads. Sam Jackson seems to be absolutely bored out of his mind in his role, doing nothing which resembles the great performances that originally made him so unique (The Red Violin, Pulp Fiction), even if he is able to easily carry the film, he does so in cruise mode. Then there is Justin Timberlake who certainly doesn’t ruin the film, he definitely tries admirably, although sometimes it feels like he’s trying too hard, but it’s more a casting/role issue I had with him, I definitely had trouble buying him in the role he was meant to portray.
Black Snake Moan aint Shakespeare and thank God for that, it’s a small gem that holds it’s hat out to you. Like a host who just wants everyone to have a good time. It’s perfectly directed, along with it’s other worthy parts all in place. If you like an emotion filled yarn that revolves around a hot woman wearing very little and a love of the blues that never takes a step wrong. Then Black Snake Moan is what the doctor ordered. This is one to let your hair down to, slam a drink or two back and have a good time with. Highly recommended.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I would never call it a great film but BSM is all about entertaining and it succeeds..what a soundtrack.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure