Black Snake Moan
 | Directed by Craig Brewer Starring: Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cothran Jr. Paramount, 2007, DVD Customer Rating: 155 reviews Recommend |
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When ex-blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds the town nymphomaniac Rae (Christina Ricci) left for dead on the side of the road, he vows to nurse her back to health…and cure her of her wickedness. Until then, she’ll be chained to the immovable radiator in his home. But Lazarus has demons of his own: his wife just left him for his own brother. While Lazarus and Rae struggle to fix their broken lives, the situation threatens to explode as Rae's boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) — a roughneck soldier just back from Iraq — comes searching for his missing lover.
The lurid scenario — a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson) — gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones — several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humor. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. — Bret Fetzer
Beyond Black Snake Moan
 The Soundtrack |  More Music Stars on DVD |  More DVDs with Samuel L. Jackson |
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Title: Black Snake Moan
Sales Rank: 5586 in DVD
Actor: Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cothran Jr.
Director: Craig Brewer
Studio: Paramount, 2007-06-26, Theatrical Release: 2007-03-02
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.18 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches, 0.18 pounds
- blues
- When i looked up the words for the lead song Black Snake moan...I was blown away...the music was superb and the story of redemption was moving.
More reviews
- Black Snake Moan
- There was a time when Lazarus played the blues; a time he got Bojo's Juke Joint shakin' back in the day. Now he lives them. Bitter and broken from a cheating wife and a shattered marriage, Lazarus' soul is lost in spent dreams and betrayal's contempt--until Rae. Half naked and beaten unconscious, Rae is left for dead on the side of the… More reviews
- Sleazy film, but interesting story and GREAT MUSIC!
- OK, this film is not for prudes--it's pretty sleazy. It's about a young nymphomaniac who ends up in the care of a single black man who has just lost his wife to his brother and is ticked off about it. What happens between them is pretty unusual and is what makes this film unique.
I love Hill Country Blues,… More reviews
- I LIKED THIS FILM
- BLACK SNAKE MOAN
I remember when this film first came out all I heard about was some big controversy about a black man chaining up a naked white woman. My first thought was who cares I have seen more offensive things on cartoons, I mean come on. So the time went by and I never had the desire to watch this… More reviews
- A little bit more than just sexy exploitation junk
- I've got to admit, I got this for less than noble reasons, perhaps even prurient ones. Christina Ricci running around near-naked for the whole film? That's something I have to see...
OK, enough of the dirty old man act. EXCEPT, that's what the film is aiming at, isn't it? The poster -- the ads -- the first… More reviews
