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"Black Snake Moan" comes to us from the brilliant young mind of Craig Brewer, who only a year or two ago gave us "Hustle & Flow." Not that was a movie that had music that actually justifies the existence of the Best Original Song category at the Oscars! "Black Snake Moan" is not quite as good as "Hustle & Flow," but that's a relatively minor criticism. It stars Samuel L. Jackson as a man whose wife has just left him for his brother (ouch), and who one day finds a young white woman on the road near his house all beat up and unconscious. She is played in a brave performance by Christina Ricci, and she is a nymphomaniac with a tortured past. Samuel sees that she has some deep problems and aims, as he puts it, to cure Ricci's character of her wicked ways. So he chains her to his radiator in an attempt to straighten her up and get her healthy, and to make her respect herself in a way that she never has before. Suffice to say, Samuel's methods are a little unorthodox, and in any other movie, he would be seen as a sick man to put it mildly. He would most certainly have been arrested for kidnapping (whether you want to call it that or not), and be seen as some sort of pevert. So it is a credit to the writing, the directing, and especially the acting that we see past the absurdity of this situation and never doubt that Sam has Ricci's best interests at heart. Watching Craig's and listening to his dialogue, you can feel how much he lives and breathes the atmosphere of Tennessee. The movie is ever so thankfully free of all the Hollywood gloss that can swallow a redemption story like this. Nothing is too clean here, and you can feel the dirt and sweat coming off all of the characters in this movie. There is an authenticity here that most movies can only be so lucky to match. This is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, and it is not likely to reach that wide of an audience. This is partly to the fact that, after so many years, we are still a very puritanical society that is so freaked out about sex and sexuality in general. I imagine people will be offended by the concept of the story to the point where they will not even bother seeing the movie. That's a shame because they will be missing out on one of the best movies of this early year. Samuel L. Jackson is excellent, but then again, when was the last time he was bad in anything? True, he has done some tremendously sh*tty movies, but he is usually the most interesting thing in them. That's why he is still running strong after all these years. The big surprise is how well he pulls off the role of a blues singer. No one can learn that overnight, and he makes it look like he really has been doing the guitar thing for years. This is also the second movie he has done recently with the word snake in the title. I leave it to you to figure out which of those movies is better. Christina Ricci is a revelation in this movie. She has always been really good in just anything she does, but I don't think I have ever seen her in a role quite this raw. She does thing that are no easy feat for any actor, and she sucks you right into the world that this character keeps descending down into. It actually feels like it has been awhile since we have seen her in anything. She is a wounded little vixen that allows herself to be vulnerable at the most inopportune times in her life, and Christina clearly shows how vulnerable this character is to those who should love her, and to those who would simply use her. Also in the movie is Justin Timberlake. Now while I am not a particularly big fan of his music (death to all boy bands!), he is not a bad actor. He is not great in this movie, as you sense that there are moments where he tries a little too hard to get an emotion across. His performance works best when he does not have to try so hard and is a little more loosened up. I kept wanting his charater to smile a little more and not be so stolid towards the end. But anyway, I am more than happy to defend him as an actor. Besides, there is a good reason why he has successfully hosted Saturday Night Live for times already. Like "Hustle & Flow," you can definetly see how music definetly influences the screenplays of Craig Brewer. Where "Hustle & Flow" had hip-hop and dreams on it's mind, "Black Snake Moan" has the blues and lots of it. If you are a blues fan, don't even hesitate to buy the soundtrack. The music is fantastic and will almost cetainly make a blues fan out of you. Craig Brewer is one of the most interesting writers out there, and his screenplays are so rich with characters that are full of dimensions. I cannot wait to see what he does next. email this review to a friend
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