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Black Snake Moan

Review By: Benjamin Lee
BenjaminLee@TheCinemaSource.com

My main complaint with many movies released today, it’s one of many, is a lack of something crucially important - atmosphere.

With so many movies set in New York being shot in Toronto or with so many others being filled with more CGs than actual humans, it’s often incredibly tough to fully immerse yourself within a movie. Watching a lot of films, one often becomes tired of the artificiality which constantly reminds us that this is a production not an attempt to replicate an invented form of reality.

Which is why, when a film comes along which truly gets you there, which really makes you believe in the setting and the environment of the movie, it’s a cause for a slight wave of excitement. This brings me, in a roundabout sort of way, to Black Snake Moan.

The film is set in the deep south and it drips with sweat and blood. Never once do we question what we see or imagine what that day of shooting must have been like. It’s stylish but there is nothing artificial about it. It’s a film which follows two very different characters, both on their own path to self-destruction.

Lazarus (Samuel L Jackson) is a man at the end of his tether. He’s led a life devoted to his wife who betrayed him and after she finally leaves town, he retreats to his place out in the sticks, wanting to spend time with no one but himself and his guitar. A guitar that reminds him of a past which saw him as a blues man who would raise the roof on his local bar every Saturday night.

Rae (Christina Ricci) is a woman at a loss. Her one love Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) is heading off to war and she finds herself in a state of wretched misery. One which can only be cured by a destructive path of sex, drink and drugs.

When Rae gets assaulted and left bloodied and bruised on the side of the road, Lazarus is the only one to find her. He takes her in and is confused by her bizarre behavior. When he learns more about her slutty reputation in the town, Lazarus takes affirmative action. It involves a chain and a radiator.

Rae has a severe case of nymphomania and Lazarus believes some quality time locked up in his farmhouse is the thing to cure her. It’s a startling premise and the image of seductive hussy Ricci chained up by a wife-beater wearin’ Jackson is sure to achieve an iconic status in cool.

The film as a whole is achingly cool in fact. From the pounding credits which sees a scantily clad Ricci strutting down a dusty road to the raw bluesy soundtrack to the earthy performance from Jackson, it’s the kind of film you want to be seen seeing.

The plot is thin admittedly. Once the initial situation has ...