Movie Review

Black Snake Moan starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci

"She got this sickness like. She gotta get the dick in her." And that pretty much sums up the plot of this wild farce from director (and Memphian) Craig Brewer. The follow up to his acclaimed Hustle and Flow is nothing if it's not full of imagination and heart.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Lazarus, a down on his luck country farmer. After his brother runs off with his wife he finds himself at the end of his emotional rope. Christina Ricci plays Rae, the town slut. But we're told to not blame her because she's got the sickness. She can't help herself.

After Rae's "meal ticket" ships off to war she hits rock bottom and finds herself underneath man after man. Drunk, drugged, and beaten, Rae is left for dead after a wild night of partying.

And this is where the story kicks in. Rae is found by Lazarus on the side of the road barely clothed and hardly breathing. Lazarus, a religious blues man, helps her into the house and begins to nurse her back to health. But his discovers her sickness and decides it's his job to cure her. So he chains her up to his old radiator and the games begin.

Sure it sounds like a pretty wild plot. And it is. However, I went into this movie thinking that it was going to pretty much be a one trick pony; Sam Jackson spouting off one liners in the same vain as his Pulp Fiction character. My theory was pleasantly disproven and what started out as a unique and unusual story turned into a damned good movie.

That's not to say there weren't a few short comings. Justin Timberlake plays Ronnie. Rae's boyfriend that ships off to war as the movie begins. I couldn't get passed the fact that it was J.T. on the big screen. I kept waiting for him to bust out in song. I couldn't get passed the high pitched voice or the unmistakable attempt to act. It wasn't until the end of the movie that I finally settled down and was able to believe that Ronnie was on the screen and not NSync. This wasn't Timberlake's fault, it's just his celebrity is much bigger than this movie ever will be.

The movie is at it's best when the blues are pumping loud and clear through the theater speakers. The soundtrack is top notch and the soulful tunes break up the movie like a careful waitress slicing up a sweet piece of pecan pie. Sam Jackson sang several of the movie's best tunes including Blind Lemon Jefferon's 1927 track Black Snake Moan.

The film's pace is deliberate and sometimes seems to give you permission to drift off in your mind. But that's not to say it is slow or boring. There are just some moments that require a little more attention than others.

Christina Ricci does a great job keeping a straight face throughout some of the more insane moments. I still think her best role ever was in Monster, but this is close. She is believeable. She is passionate. And she's pretty much naked throughout the whole thing.

While not everyone will appreciate the tongue in cheek humor or how serious this flick ultimately takes itself I can assure you that it will give you something to talk about. And isn't that really the director's most important job requirement?

Grade: B+