Rae
(Christina Ricci) is a young woman with a history of sexual
abuse and nymphomania. When her boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake)
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 (Samuel L. Jackson), 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 redemption. 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.
