Black Snake Moan

PLOT:

The film centers around two main characters: Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson), a deeply religious farmer and former blues guitarist, and Rae (Christina Ricci), a young nymphomaniac. Lazarus’s wife has left him for his brother, which has left him a bitter and angry man. Rae’s boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) leaves for deployment with the 1960th Field Artillery Brigade, Tennessee National Guard, and in his absence she has bouts of promiscuity and drug use. During one of Rae’s binges, Ronnie’s friend Gill (Michael Raymond-James) tries to take advantage of her. She laughs at his advances, comparing him unfavorably with another man, and he severely beats her. Believing she’s dead, Gill dumps Rae by the side of the road and drives away.

Lazarus discovers Rae in the road the next morning and brings her home to nurse her back to health. Over the course of several days, Rae, delirious with fever, occasionally wakes up and tries to flee from Lazarus. He ties her to the radiator with a heavy chain to keep her from running away. After Rae regains her wits, Lazarus announces that it is his spiritual duty to heal her of her sinful ways and refuses to release her until he does so. Rae makes several attempts to escape, but eventually comes to tolerate her position. Lazarus buys her a proper dress to wear, plays guitar for her, and feeds her home-cooked meals. Lazarus’s pastor and close friend, R.L. (John Cothran Jr.), visits Lazarus at his house and discovers that Lazarus is imprisoning Rae. The pastor tries to reason with Lazarus and the group shares a meal.

Meanwhile, Ronnie returns to town after being discharged from the National Guard due to his severe anxiety disorder. While searching for Rae, who has disappeared, he meets Gill, who informs him that Rae cheats on him whenever he is out of town. Ronnie attacks Gill, steals his truck, and continues searching for Rae.

In the morning, Lazarus frees Rae, having decided that he has no authority to pass judgment on her. Rae chooses to stay with Lazarus of her own will. Later, Rae and Lazarus take a trip into town, where Rae confronts her mother (Kim Richards) about the sexual abuse  she suffered at the hands of her mother’s partner. Meanwhile, Lazarus has formed a budding romance with the local pharmacist, Angela (S. Epatha Merkerson). He plays a blues concert at a local bar, which Rae attends. Ronnie spots Rae and follows her to Lazarus’s house. He confronts the pair with a pistol, but Lazarus talks him down and summons the pastor. Ronnie and Rae decide that they are stronger together than apart and get married. While driving away, Ronnie suffers a panic attack and Rae begins to break down, but together they overcome their afflictions.

REVIEW:

With a title like Black Snake Moan and soundtrack filled with the blues, the tone for this film is set for some superb acting, if executed well.

This film is apparently based on a book of the same name. One of these days, I may go to the library and check it out.

Samuel L. Jackson is what you would expect from him, although he is a bit subdued…for him. He obviously has some pain from things that happened to him, which we find out in song form later in the film, that leads to him being the grumpy old man. Somehow, it works for him, but I have to wonder…what was up with the hair?

Christina Ricci looks hotter than ever in this role. Of course, that could be because she’s running around little to no clothing on for a good 95% of the picture. The way she writhes around is quite impressive. It takes talent to act like you’re more or less possessed and in pain, not to mention the emotional depth her character requires. Ricci has come a long way since being Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, not to mention she has become a lot more comfortable with taking her clothes off on camera since Prozac Nation. There is one scene here where she just rips her top off and throws herself at a guy.

Justin Timberlake, having conquered the music world by bring sexy back a few years ago and giving us all a “Dick in a box”, tries his hand at acting. With many singers, they flop, especially if they try drama, but Timberlake does a pretty nice job. I think he has a future on the big screen, especially if he keep picking up roles of this caliber.

A couple of TV stars pop up here. S. Epatha Merkson is here as a pharmacist that is sweet on Lazarus, played by Samuel L. Jackson. You may know her better as Reba , the mail lady from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. Also in the cast is Michael Raymond-James. Like Merkson, he’s not a household name, but you may know him as the murderous Rene from the first season of True Blood. His accent still leaves a lot to be desired, however.

I won’t lie to you, the main reason I watched this was to see Christina Ricci run around next to naked for most of the film, but after watching it, I must say that it was actually the story that kept me captivated more than her tight body. Dramas aren’t my first choice of film, so for me to recommend this film so highly is out of the ordinary, but it blew me away. There are a few things that could have been better, but that goes for any and every film. Black Snake Moan is a must see for any film fan.

4 out of 5 stars