Scan and Pan
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Black Snake Moan
Rae is a young woman with a history of sexual abuse and nymphomania. When her boyfriend Ronnie leaves for boot camp, the loss of the only stable influence in her life leads her back into old patterns with a night of sex, alcohol, and drugs. The next morning, her battered body is found in the road by Lazarus, an aging bluesman turned farmer who's embittered by his wife leaving him for his younger brother. Lazarus believes God has set Rae in his path for a reason, so he chains her up inside his house intending to cure her of her wild ways.
Writer/director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) serves up an intense film that's equal parts sin and salvation. He takes an exploitative premise and turns it into a deftly observed character piece about two disparate people who hold they keys to each other's salvation. At times trashy and pulpy in the very best ways, you simply can't look away as the story winds its way along a steamy path thick with Southern Gothic atmosphere and soul. Brewer's direction mines the sharp humor lying under the story's surface without diminishing it as a drama, while cutting right to the hearts of its protagonists. He also makes good use of music and songs to tell their story. Cinematographer Amy Vincent (Hustle & Flow) evokes the Southern Gothic atmosphere in her lighting without distracting the audience from the story and performances, a fine balance maintained from beginning to end.
If someone described a character like Lazarus and asked you to cast the role, Samuel L. Jackson would be your first choice because this is the kind of role he thrives on so brilliantly. His Lazarus palpably aches with betrayal and loss, feelings that go to the heart of what the blues are about, and it drives him to intervene in the life of a troubled young woman not simply for her sake, but also for his. He also demonstrates a genuinely bluesy singing voice. Christina Ricci's uninhibited performance is electrifying, as she portrays Rae as a desperate junkie whose drug is sex rather than heroin. Jackson and Ricci feed off of each other in what are some of the best performances they've ever given.
Justin Timberlake is surprisingly believable as Ronnie, who loves Rae despite her problems and wants to save her in the same way she saved him. The rest of the cast is also very good, including John Cothran Jr. as Lazarus' preacher, S. Epatha Merkerson as the pharmacist Lazarus shows a romantic interest in, Michael Raymond-James as Ronnie's duplicitous best friend, Kim Richards as Rae's mother, and Neimus K. Williams in a funny turn as an awkward delivery boy who loses his virginity to Rae.
As bluesman Son House explains in documentary footage included in this film, the blues are about pain that lives in the heart. If there's such a thing as a blues film, Black Snake Moan might be it. Highly recommended.
The first great film of 2007.
Rae is a young woman with a history of sexual abuse and nymphomania. When her boyfriend Ronnie leaves for boot camp, the loss of the only stable influence in her life leads her back into old patterns with a night of sex, alcohol, and drugs. The next morning, her battered body is found in the road by Lazarus, an aging bluesman turned farmer who's embittered by his wife leaving him for his younger brother. Lazarus believes God has set Rae in his path for a reason, so he chains her up inside his house intending to cure her of her wild ways.
Writer/director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) serves up an intense film that's equal parts sin and salvation. He takes an exploitative premise and turns it into a deftly observed character piece about two disparate people who hold they keys to each other's salvation. At times trashy and pulpy in the very best ways, you simply can't look away as the story winds its way along a steamy path thick with Southern Gothic atmosphere and soul. Brewer's direction mines the sharp humor lying under the story's surface without diminishing it as a drama, while cutting right to the hearts of its protagonists. He also makes good use of music and songs to tell their story. Cinematographer Amy Vincent (Hustle & Flow) evokes the Southern Gothic atmosphere in her lighting without distracting the audience from the story and performances, a fine balance maintained from beginning to end.
If someone described a character like Lazarus and asked you to cast the role, Samuel L. Jackson would be your first choice because this is the kind of role he thrives on so brilliantly. His Lazarus palpably aches with betrayal and loss, feelings that go to the heart of what the blues are about, and it drives him to intervene in the life of a troubled young woman not simply for her sake, but also for his. He also demonstrates a genuinely bluesy singing voice. Christina Ricci's uninhibited performance is electrifying, as she portrays Rae as a desperate junkie whose drug is sex rather than heroin. Jackson and Ricci feed off of each other in what are some of the best performances they've ever given.
Justin Timberlake is surprisingly believable as Ronnie, who loves Rae despite her problems and wants to save her in the same way she saved him. The rest of the cast is also very good, including John Cothran Jr. as Lazarus' preacher, S. Epatha Merkerson as the pharmacist Lazarus shows a romantic interest in, Michael Raymond-James as Ronnie's duplicitous best friend, Kim Richards as Rae's mother, and Neimus K. Williams in a funny turn as an awkward delivery boy who loses his virginity to Rae.
As bluesman Son House explains in documentary footage included in this film, the blues are about pain that lives in the heart. If there's such a thing as a blues film, Black Snake Moan might be it. Highly recommended.
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