Black Snake Moan

Black Snake Moan

Nymphomania or Hypersexuality is a desire for human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant, as defined my Wikipedia. It may be easier to write someone off as loose or a slut, but that would foolish as it clear by the number of dysfunction that result from pre-mature or unwanted sexual activity that this is a problem. Craig Brewer tries to shine some light on the subject in his most recent film Black Snake Moan.

Black Snake Moan is the story of an older Georgian Black man doing his best to help a young Georgian White girl over come her sexual addiction. I know, I know, you haven’t heard of a more perfect storyline for a Porno crossover, they wouldn’t even really change the name. But leave it to director Craig Brewer, Hustle & Flow, to make this a lot more than a soft core Skinemax special. The movie has real emotion and is unrelenting in taking on this controversial subject matter head on.

Lazarus, played by Mr. Samuel L.Jackson, is one time Blues performer who wife has just left him for his brother and is having crisis of faith when he discovers the beaten and bloodied body of the beautiful Rae, Christina Ricci, who was left for dead on the side of the road after a night of sex, drugs, and violence. Lazarus brings the young girl into his home to help her as best he can. He ends up not only helping her heal from the wounds on the outside, but also from those of her past that have scared her soul.

I really can’t say enough about Brewer’s ability to make this more of a movie than it should have been. It is no small feat to film half-naked incredibly sexy Christina Ricci in her underwear and a T-shirt for half the movie and do it in such as way as to not have the audience singularly focused on her. Brewer is very good at capturing the pure heart of his characters underneath their very flawed exteriors. Additionally he also incorporates the heat and personality of the south as it own character in the film. The environment is an additional silent player that compliments everything else that is happening on screen. Even though his films contain many of the stereotypical elements of the south that we Northerners tend to look down on; in Brewers films they serve to contextualize the story and add a layer of depth not seen anywhere else.

As great as Brewer is he was not alone in this movie, Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci were exceptional. I have to say it again for Christina to take on this role and come across as someone battling with a severe problem and not just some whore who really liked sex had to take talent. She did an excellent job of selling the inner torment that plagued her. She clearly did not want to be the way she was, but knew no other way to ease the pain of her past, until she met Lazarus. Sam Jackson is versatile and captivating. He is convincing in everything he does and after this movie I now know Sam is a fairly talented musician. I am not sure if he was striking those chords on the guitar or not, but he was definitely signing the words and sounded pretty good. I would also be remise if I did not say a word or two about Mr. Timberlake, who was very believable. Justin gives a strong performance and never drops into the background even when he is acting against clearly better actors. He hangs in there as best he can and does a very good job. I am not ready to give him any awards, but he did a nice job for someone I expected very little from.

This movie will not receive critical acclaim and will probably go largely unnoticed, but I am glad I saw it. There are many kinds of addictions and sexual addictions should not be taken any less serious than some of their more well none counterparts. It is clear that Rae was abused as a child and that abuse imparted a spirit that would only be satisfied by more sex, until it grew so strong she would take it from anyone at almost anytime. Brewer pays this subject matter the appropriate respect and in the end delivers a strong piece that is not only entertaining but is also a commentary on something that is not taken seriously enough in our culture.

GRADE - A