The film opens up with Rae Doole (Christina Ricci) and her boyfriend Ronnie Morgan (Justin Timberlake). The two are deeply in love but Ronnie has enlisted in the army and has to leave for training. Rae has been abused and molested her whole life and, consequently, struggles with self-worth and a crippling addiction to drugs and sex. With Ronnie around she has managed a small amount of control over this but now that he is absent she immediately falls back on her demons, partying and drinking, sleeping around. After one such event she is beaten and left on the side of the road to die.
Meanwhile, Lazarus Redd (Samuel L. Jackson) is a small time farmer and former musician whose wife has left him for his best friend. Lazarus is a god-fearing man with anger issues and has, rightfully so, turned bitter towards his former friend, nearly killing him with a broken beer bottle when the friend tries to make peace over the whole situation. One morning Lazarus finds the unconscious body of Rae lying out in the road outside his house, feverish and half-dead. He reasons that because he is a black man in the south and she’s a white girl if he calls the police he will be a prime suspect for her assault. Instead, he brings her into his house to take care of her. It becomes apparent, however, that there is more wrong with her than just her physical condition and he decides it is up to him to not only nurse her back to health but to help heal her from her demons, whether she likes it or not, by chaining her to his radiator so she cannot run away and resume her destructive lifestyle. Meanwhile, Ronnie has been discharged from the Army because he has panic attacks when surrounded by too much noise and has come home looking for Rae.
The whole premise behind Black Snake Moan is absurd when examined up close. However, it plays well thanks to a strong cast who have all brought their A-games to the film. Christina Ricci delivers an uninhibited performance here that is jaw-dropping at times. Physically she went through a transformation for this role, eating nothing but non-nutritious foods to achieve an unhealthy physique, a look that cannot realistically be achieved via make-up. Added to this physical change is her actual performance. She sells her torment in every frame. Watching her, here, we can believe the tragedy of her back-story. When she tries to reconcile with her mother, who allowed the abuse to occur, it is harrowing. We also get a peak at what it must have been like for Rae to live with that woman after seeing the two come to blows in the aisles of a convince store.
As good as Ricci is here, Samuel L. Jackson meets her head-on in his best performance since Pulp Fiction. Lazarus is a man who has lost himself. He used to be a blues magician but hasn’t picked up his guitar in years, instead burying himself in farming and his own personal demons. Taking care of Rae gives him a new purpose, one that leads him to not only putting his past behind him but also the possibilities of a new romance, this time with Angela (S. Epatha Merkerson), a woman working in a pharmacy who provides him with medicine for Rae. From her first scene it is obvious she has feelings for him but, had it not been for the situation with Rae, nothing would have come of it. Rae also inspires Lazarus to dig out his old guitar and begin playing again, something that yields its own brand of healing for both of them. The only thing missing here is any real sense of what it was like between Lazarus and his wife before she left him. We get one brief scene between them when she tells him she’s leaving and then she’s gone from the picture. Seeing them together prior to this would have strengthened our understanding of the change he goes through in the course of this story.
Rounding out the cast is Justin Timberlake as Ronnie. Justin was fairly new to the acting scene at this point, appearing in mostly uncredited roles and a myriad of parts tied into his time working for Disney. This is not his first dramatic adult role but it is one of the more memorable ones. He straddles the line between frustrated anger and vulnerability. His limited screen time means much of his character gets relegated to telling rather than showing but the final scene of the movie allows us to see what his mental and emotional struggles are. Ronnie and Rae are a true odd couple. Neither will end this film riding into the sunset happily ever after but they can help hold each other up the best they can and work their way through their inner demons. It is a brave decision to end the film with this but it really is the only believable way this film could have ended.
The final star of this film is the music. The film is peppered with music from the likes of The Black Keys, Bobby Rush and even a few numbers by Samuel L. Jackson who spent several months learning to play guitar for this role. The blues is prevalent throughout the film and not only adds atmosphere but underscores the emotional wellbeing’s of the main cast. When Rae convinces Lazarus to play for her he’s hesitant at first but falls back into playing for an audience with a soulful blues number that betrays the feelings in his heart. Later, his music takes on a more powerful note as he plays for a bar filled with excited patrons. Lastly, Rae uses that music to help soothe Ronnie when he has one of his panic attacks. The music is used perfectly here to underscore the drama and to build a connection between the characters.
This is not an easy picture to watch. There are several moments, especially early on, that depict just how messed up Rae is, both psychologically and sexually. The film refuses to shy away from this and Ricci is all in on portraying it with a rawness and honesty few could. Had this film tried to soften the blow, hidden or merely glossing over the harsh realities of Rae’s life, this film wouldn’t work. The absurdity of the central premise would have overwhelmed things and the whole story would fall apart. As it is, Craig Brewer paints a picture of a woman who has spiraled down about as far as a woman can get before being offered a helping hand out of the darkness. Lazarus lifts her up but, realistically, he can only do so much and it will ultimately be up to her to climb the rest of the way up. The film doesn’t tell us if she will eventually succeed or fall back down again; that is left for us to speculate. It leaves us with hope that she will, but also a little bit of doubt, too. It is a brilliant moment in an already well made film. Things don’t need to be wrapped up and tidy in the end. Life just isn’t like that. Life is messy and harsh, painful and unpleasant. It also has a spark of hope in it, a hope that we can cling onto to help us endure and press forward.
Release Date: March 2, 2007
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Rated R
Starring: Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake
Directed By: Craig Brewer
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