Better than I expected from a film selling itself on the premise of nymphomania and inter-racial bondage. The music is great, and cinematography focuses greatly on turning Ricci into a trailer trash Betty Paige and it works. Samuel L. get's to shout ...(read more)a lot, which he's good at, as well as play lots of blues guitar, which he looks cool doing. Even Justin Timberlake was decent as the mentally disturbed boyfriend. I get the feeling that this material under anyone else would have been complete s*%#, but instead managed to just barley carve out it's own odd little transgressive pulp niche, while still being an effective drama.
I do like the idea of a solid message behind skewed portrayl... but how many stars can I give something with Justin Timberlake in it.... I mean really? He was the best choice for that role>
"Black Snake Moan" es una bizarra cinta, que parece salida del repertorio Grindhouse de Quentin Tarantino. La imagen mas iconica de la pelicula es, sin duda, la de cristina ricci semidesnuda encadenada por Lazarus, el musico de Blues. Con esta descripcion podemos darnos cuenta de lo peculiar que es esta pelicula; lo mejor son las actuaciones de Ricci y Samuel L Jackson, y el soundtrack. Aunque no es una pelicula facil de digerir tiene un poder y una crudeza innegable.
A very good film. Samuel L. Jackson and particularly Christina Ricci were brilliant in this film. Christina Ricci was gorgeous in it. This film proves that it isnt always just about sex and drugs that people can make something out of themselves without them. I felt for Rae in this film because she misses her boyfriend and to ease her sorrows she turns into a wasted prostitute. Justin Timberlake was good in this film aswell.
While not a squeaky clean family friendly movie behind it all it's got a good theme of redemption and how faith in God can help us overcome all of life's problems no matter how dark they are.
I liked this better than I expected - the story didn't interest me at first but Samuel Jackson and Christina Ricci are great as always. Even Justin Timberlake turns in a good performance, while managing to leave his shirt on the whole time... unlike Ricci. The ending's a little too feel-good but it does make a nice counterpoint to the darkness of much of the rest of the movie, as do some humorous exchanges between Ricci and Jackson, and some moments of Jackson playing the blues.
This was a very strange and interesting movie. I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by Justin Timberlake's acting chops...not bad, not bad at all.
I can't decide whether to seriously dislike this movie or really appreciate it.. I guess in some ways I liked, and in some ways I just thought it was terrible..I did like the bluesy parts allot though.
Jackson, Ricci, and Timberlake all have solid performances. Which is about the only reason I gave this a 3-star. It has some decent scenes and emotion behind the film - but honestly it's kind of far out.
A guy cures a girl from being a slut by holding her captive? The writer must of been on dope or had a real real bad relationship when he wrote this movie.
"God put you in my path and I aim to cure you of your wicked ways. "
Black Snake Moan might very well have one of the most memorable posters of this decade. This film - and you just have to look at it - oozes sexiness, attitude and wacky fun, with loads of quirkiness all round. With great actors like Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson and non-actor star Justin Timberlake, Black Snake Moan is a film with some of the more unconventional characters put on screen, and with Jackson on board, you can be sure that he brings forth some of that mo-fo traits that features prominently in his films.
Ricci plays Rae, the village bicycle who is ridden by almost everyone in town. And I really mean almost everyone. We'll find out the reason how this condition was inflicted, but in the meantime, she's more than eager to shed her clothes to get her sexual fix, or doesn't bat an eyelid to prostitute herself to feed her drug addiction. With her white trash reputation, only her love for Ronnie (Timberlake) is true, but that doesn't stop her from cheating on him behind his back.
Jackson's Lazarus has just emerged from a broken marriage, the victim of being cheated upon. A God-fearing man, I would've half expected he start to recite some verses in the Bible while blowing someone's brains off (oh wait, that's the other film). But nonetheless here's Jackson in his element, and the story gets hastened when he finds Rae near his home, half naked and battered. Not knowing what else to do, and taking it as a signal from God, he takes it upon himself to nurse Rae back to health, and through religion and friendship, tries to exorcise those evil demons within her.
And he does so by firstly, chaining her up. While there are suggestive shades of S&M here, there's nothing kinky about it, so don't expect Jackson and Ricci steaming up the screens. Much against her wishes to have her movements restricted, Lazarus "will not be moved!" in inflicting cold-turkey styled treatments on Rae, and most of the fun comes in when they go head to head in a battle of wills. But as expected, a deep friendship ensues, and Lazarus becomes a surrogate father of sorts, which brings us to other highly anticipated moments in the film, when Jackson sings the blues. Armed with his guitar, perhaps those segments are the most entertaining of the lot, when he goes into full swing and performs with cool, slick attitude to boot. I haven't heard of any blues tunes with profanity, and only Samuel L. Jackson does it best when on form.
Black Snake Moan, which takes its title from a Blind Lemon Jefferson song, is the latest film from writer-director Craig Brewer. I still haven't seen his début, The Poor and the Hungry, but between this and Hustle & Flow, Brewer is establishing himself as one hell of an auteur. The two pictures perfectly flow into each other, and it ain't just the yellow blaxploitation titles and the deep-fried North Mississippi setting. It's Brewer's inherent understanding of mood and texture, the way you can almost smell the sweat, cigarette smoke and moonshine, characters that are both larger-than-life and down to earth, and the fearless performances he gets out of his actors.
Ricci fully throws herself in this dirty blonde, white trash, volcanic nympho character, who spends nearly the whole film in her knickers and in (and out of) a half shirt. She's absolutely provocative and looking fan-fucking-tastic. Definitely not the little girl who was once a friend of Casper. Opposite her, Jackson is just as great, taking on an initially disturbing character and pouring his soul into him. He's a man who's not above holding a broken beer bottle or a shotgun up at someone, a man full of anger at his wife who gone and left him, for his brother of all people. Balding, with a greying beard and a stained wife-beater, this isn't the stylish and cool Sam Jackson we're used to. This is a broken man, who starts healing a little when he starts caring for Rae. His methods are unorthodox to say the least, but the tenderness that eventually develops between him and the girl is as undeniable as it might seem unlikely.
As for Timberlake... he plays the lovelorn boy who volunteers for the army, and for the most parts is not on screen. Not surprising too is that he doesn't sing anything (as per his role in Shrek the Third), and his character is actually a wussy. The film definitely plays on Ricci and Jackson's strengths and chemistry, which they have delivered most excellently.
Another unexpected thing about Jackson is that he reveals to be a kickass blues singer and, I think, guitarist (I'm not sure it's always his playing we're hearing). That's another great skill of Brewer, he totally nails how to use sound and particularly music. Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan are almost musicals, not just because they have cracking soundtracks but because characters often best express themselves through song, be it Jackson's staggering performance of the title track with an electric guitar during a thunderstorm or Ricci's heartbreaking singing of This Little Light of Mine. Both films are basically stories about finding your voice, about how "every man has the right to contribute a verse."
Sex, violence, and Samuel L. Jackson. There's just no way a film with those elements combined wouldn't result in an awesome film. Thankfully, Black Snake Moan also tackles some highly sensitive issues and it has a little wicked fun making sure that the well-thinkers will be horrified by it, but if you stick with it, you'll see that its excesses are earned and that this is a heartfelt, thoughtful piece. Craig Brewer is the real deal, he can go anywhere from here.
Craig Brewer delivers this unique blend of sex, brutality, relationships and in the end a love story. Not for everyone: nudity, rough language, sexual violence. But for the rest of us, what if Tarantino wasn't obsessed with guns and blood? There are some funny moments and also a perverse skin flick quality of a skeletally thin, very hot Christina Ricci chained and, well, very hot! It blends in some pretty good blues as Sam Jackson works out his own marital problems by helping out Ricci's battered waif sex maniac. 4 and a half stars, big recommendation for all adult non-prudes. Why? "I calls it the Black Snake Moan".
Black Snake Moan i found was nothing but an excuse to have Christina Ricci running around naked or half naked. Don't get me wrong the acting from Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson was good compared to what we are used to from them but the story is dull and uninspiring. Justin Timberlake did well in his over billed role and is building a good portfolio.
Sexual, musically beautiful, incredible acting, a mesmerizing modern legend, that teases at the exploitation without saturating to the degree Tarantino would have done.
Ricci and Jackson are fantastic, but this movie runs out of steam in the last half hour. It could do with a better subplot as Timberlake's character is such a wussy pretty-boy that he fails to make any impact. Plus, it's not believable that she would stay with someone so weak. Could have done with his character being stronger and nastier. But whenever Ricci and Jackson are together this film is great. Wonderfully sultry soundtrack too.
This is a good movie.The sex/nude scenes with Christina Ricci are great.Samuel L. Jackson also gives an excellent performance.I highly recommend this movie.
What I thought would be just a mean, dirty, violent, sexed out gritty southern flick ended up being one of the most inspirational movies of recent years. Of course, it was still all of those wonderfully sadistic things, but I was surprised with the very positive Christian message that this movie eventually drives home. And Christina Ricci and the always awesome Sam Jackson both do really great, and are not afraid to get dirty, sweaty, and bloody in this rawest of raw movies. I don't think that Justin Timberlake was the right guy for the boyfriend role though. He did well in Alpha Dog, but a down and dirty movie like this aint no place for a pretty boy like him. But overall, I was deeply entertained, and I really think that this movie deserves an audience and eventually, perhaps, even a cult following.
Really good. I went into it thinking that it'd be really sexually graphic due to the plot outline that I'd heard for it (a nymphomaniac gets chained to a radiator until she changes her ways), but that's not really what the movie was "about." Instead, Black Snake Moan is more about healing and redemption. Technically, Lazarus didn't even cure Rae (the nympho), but it could be said that she had more of an effect on him than he did on her.
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