The plotline for "Black Snake Moan" is plain to see from the trailer: Samuel L. Jackson chains Christina Ricci to a radiator to cure her of "wickedness." However, Craig Brewer's follow-up to "Hustle & Flow" is anything but simple. Using elements from blaxploitation and sexploitation flicks from a bygone era, Brewer has designed a film that can be enjoyed on the base sexual level (and oh what a level that is), but also enjoyed on a deeper, character-driven level.
Samuel L. Jackson deserves major credit for his portrayal of Lazarus in the film. Nobody else in Hollywood could have infused the God-fearing bluesman with the same harsh edge or vulnerability. In addition, his performance during the blues-heavy segments is remarkable. It doesn't matter whether a body double was used for the guitar performance; Jackson's vocals are powerful and sometimes heartwrenching.
The film's other stars, Ricci and Justin Timberlake, also do a good job with the material. Who would have thought that Ricci could exude sexuality? But she does (this may have been aided by the fact that throughout the film she is in various states of undress). The flashbacks of her life (pre-radiator) show her character, Rae, beyond the simple nymphomaniac depicted in the trailer.
Brewer said he was "writing on these cork boards ... and then I saw her, I saw Rae. ... I saw just all my obsessions, all my fears, all my love about Southern culture and Southern music and drive-in movies and exploitation films and Daisy Duke-wearing girls and it just collided."
And, as painful as it is to admit, Timberlake is not bad as Ronnie, Rae's jealous love interest. He isn't in the film for very long and ends up shouting a bunch of his lines, but he's believable, and there was a hint of talent in his performance.
Coming across as a character in its own right is the blues music that populates the film.
"The music is crucial to me and I truly mean that," Brewer said. "It starts there. I don't have an idea for a movie and go, 'Blues music would be good with this.'"
This was evident in his previous work, "Hustle & Flow," which won an Oscar for Best Original Song and comes through loud and clear here. There is one specific scene with Lazarus playing for Rae that is worth the price of admission alone; it is moving and absolutely incredible. The music serves as the narrator of the film and affects its entire mood. There could be no image and the film would still get its point across with the music. Moviegoers may want to pick up the soundtrack after they leave the theater.
Brewer said he put a lot of himself into the picture. The anxiety attacks he experienced are reflected in the characters of Ronnie and Rae, he said, and the old radiator is a replica of the one he used to see at his grandfather's house.
Brewer said he is especially fond of the Southern culture and the juke joints of his native Memphis. He said he strongly believes that when life gets you down, you need to go "where the music is loud and the liquor is brown and you're dancing and sweating and you're not caring and you just ride that misery until Sunday morning."
Ultimately, the story of "Black Snake Moan" is about two broken people who come together and heal each other in the process. The cast is great and the music is better. Brewer said he wanted to "create a new brand of film." "Black Snake Moan" will leave the audience wanting more, which they should get in his next film, a country-music movie centering on a character he describes as "putting the cunt back in country." Give this film a shot--it is well worth it.
