Review: ‘Black Snake Moan’ on DVD

Black Snake Moan (2006) was written and directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) and is by no means a perfect film, but it is definitely worth seeing. Samuel L. Jackson plays Lazarus, a religious but troubled blues-man whose life has taken a turn for the dumps. After his wife leaves him with his younger brother, Lazarus finds difficulty maintaining his spirits. Christina Ricci plays Rae, a young blond woman who’s got an itch that she can’t keep scratched. After her boyfriend Ronnie, played by Justin Timberlake, leaves town to join the National Guard, Rae finds herself unable to control her urges and sets out on a path of self-destruction. The otherwise unrelated lives of these two characters find themselves deeply connected when Lazarus happens upon Rae’s body, beaten badly and sick on the side of the road. Lazarus takes her in to help her wounds and finds himself on a personal mission to save her soul.

This is not a deeply religious movie, but it does play its part. Instead, Black Snake Moan tells a tale of two people who find it in themselves and each other to put all things aside and take responsibility for their lives. Lazarus is a man who feels he’s been wronged and there isn’t a thing anyone can do to make it right. Rae, on the other hand, has been wronged in unspeakable ways, but hasn’t yet confronted the truth that lies within her past. Lazarus sees his opportunity to save Rae from the life she leads as his chance to redeem his own life and somehow make things right. At first, Rae resists that she has a problem and fights Lazarus on what he’s doing, but she soon comes to terms with her truth and embraces her new friend in his efforts to help cure her sickness.

One the tails of Hustle and Flow, it would be difficult for anyone to match the acclaim that film received. Black Snake Moan is a smaller film with a less contemporary theme, but the movie successfully carries a lot on its shoulders. I really enjoyed the style in which Brewer chose to photograph this movie. There are plenty of interesting but subtle angles and perspectives used in telling this story, and the lighting is rich in tone and color. In many ways, as I watched Black Snake Moan, I felt this was close to how Quentin Tarantino may have directed this film. Not to take any credit from Brewer, but I say this as a compliment. This story has many thematic elements that Tarantino has touched upon in his own films. Of course, with Jackson in the role he plays, much more of this Tarantino-esque quality emerges at times.

The story revolves a lot around the sounds of the blues and there is some good music in Black Snake Moan, who’s title refers to one of Lazarus’ songs. In enjoyed Jackson in this movie, but on several occasions I felt it would have served well to dub in the vocals when Lazarus is singing the blues. I just didn’t feel Jackson had the musical range to truly emote this aspect of the character’s persona. The only other complaint I have is during the big blues bar scene when Lazarus makes his triumphant return to the stage and belts out a blues tune that carries more expletives than soul. In this scene, I actually felt I was watching Jules Winnfield strumming the guitar while asking Brett if they speak English in What. The end of the film does actually move out of character a bit in its effort to wrap up the story with a nice and tidy happy ending, but overall Black Snake Moan was pleasing to the eyes and intellect.

[rating:3.5/5]

DVD Features:

• Commentary with writer/director Craig Brewer
• Conflicted: The Making of Black Snake Moan featurette
• Rooted in the Blues featurette
• Black Snake Moan (about the song) featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Photo Gallery
• Previews