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never fails to grab you

Craig Brewer has become an overnight sensation. His first major film, Hustle and Flow, about a pimp struggling to break into the hip-hop scene, wowed critics and audiences. It earned award nominations and an Oscar for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture (“It’s Hard Out There for a Pimp” by Three 6 Mafia, a first for hip-hop and possibly pimps). Brewer’s next film, Black Snake Moan, managed to catch the attention of big name stars and has once again earned positive reviews from some of the country’s major film critics. The film is now available on DVD.

Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) is a washed-up bluesman who has hung up his guitar in favor of working his farm. The simple life he has created for himself takes a sudden about-face when his wife leaves him for his own brother. Filled with anger and resentment, Lazarus begins to spiral out of control but snaps out of it when he finds a half-naked woman beaten up and passed out on the dirt road leading to his farm. The girl is Rae (Christina Ricci), a sex addict whose boyfriend, Ronnie (Justin Timberlake), has left on deployment with the National Guard. With the only person keeping her grounded gone, Rae cuts loose, having sex with various men while drowning her pain in booze and pills. Semi-conscious, she’s picked up by a friend of Ronnie’s, who beats her up and pushes her out of his truck when she refuses his demands for sex.

Taking Rae into his home to nurse her back to health, Lazarus becomes protective of the young girl, whom he believes was put in his path by God to get him back on track. To keep her from running away and hurting herself, Lazarus chains Rae to his radiator until she is cured of her affliction. To do that, Rae must confront the demons in her past, and her well-meaning captor does the same.

Black Snake Moan makes its way to DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray this week. Extras on the disc are few but are extremely insightful and well worth watching. First is a nice audio commentary track with Brewer. Next is “Conflicted: The Making of Black Snake Moan,” a 30-minute featurette which details the making of the film, the casting of the leads and the use of music in the film. The musical aspect is further examined in “Rooted in the Blues,” where viewers get to meet the talented musicians who composed the film’s original music. “The Black Snake Moan” is a 9-minute comprehensive look at the making of one of the movie’s pivotal scenes and the history of the song itself. Five deleted scenes with optional commentary by Brewer also made the disc, as well as a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer.

Based on the trailers, TV spots and the poster art, Black Snake Moan seems a lot more controversial than it actually is. What looks like a trashy exploitation flick is actually a surprisingly uplifting tale of redemption through unconventional yet unconditional love. The first 45 minutes or so, which is full of sex, violence and the imprisonment of a young woman for the purposes of “cleansing her of her sins,” will certainly raise eyebrows, but that’s not what you’ll ultimately remember when you reflect on the film. By the end, the unexpectedly poignant story touches on the effects of sexual abuse, severe anxiety and the importance of communication, trumping the divisive elements that make up the first act. The terrific performances from Jackson and Ricci make up for what fledgling actor Justin Timberlake lacks. This is by far his worst performance in a film, but it’s honestly not as bad as it could have been. The musical score is a character in itself, drifting in and out of each scene, peppering the film with life. The soundtrack contains some remarkable tunes and is well worth purchasing if you’re a blues lover.

Black Snake Moan never fails to grab the viewer’s attention and does so while defying convention; a feat many films try and horribly fail at. Strong performances from the lead actors are what may draw some moviegoers, but ultimately the story itself will be what wins them over.