Black Snake Moan – An Intelligent Trash ??
“That voice in my head, everytime I think it’s gone…. it comes howling back
Calls me when I’m ailing; when I can’t find my way home
Lost in the pines
I call it the Black snake Moan”
and so goes the electric guitar strumming Samuel L. Jackson in the recently released “Black Snake Moan.” It’s hard to imagine a trigger friendly gun man (Pulp Fiction is probably Jackson’s most iconic role till date.. This movie might change that) as an aging, God-fearing ex-blues musician. But Jackson is simply superb as a retired musician and now farmer, Lazarus, trying to come to terms with a failed marriage. What can be more painful than losing your wife to your brother? When he finds the town’s nymphomaniac, Rae (Christina Ricci) by the roadside – all beaten up and bruised , he takes her under his wings, determined to treat her of her wicked ways. The film tracks the emotional and pyhsical journey of the two characters, as eventually both in a way, fix each other.
Christina Ricci gives her best performance yet (after that superb role in Monster) as a sex kitten who finds the going too tough without her daily dose. Suffering sexual abuse and abandonment from her parents at an early age, the only pillar of strength in her life is her boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake). However after he leaves to join the marines, Rae is back to her wild ways clinging to any man she can get hold of.
I had read mixed reviews about the movie on the internet. After all it’s hard to visually digest an old black main putting a young luscious beauty on chains, trying to treat her of her naughty ways. So when I finally was able to lay my hand on the DVD, I just could hardly wait to pop it into my DVD player. I have been trippin’ on the movie ever since. Some great music and equally great performances from all the characters involved make “Black Snake moan” an immensely watchable film. For some viewers though it could be too much of in-your-face pulp, trash and exploitation. For other morally bound watchers, the idea of a semi naked twenty something woman, itching and twitching for more could be loathing. Also the movie plunges into way beyond realism at times and seems a bit nonsense. But though the movie might not be up to every one’s taste, it surely is a worthy watch.
As for director Craig Brewer, he is another addition to the growing list of brilliant film makers who write and direct their own stuff. After 2005’s critically acclaimed “Hustle and Flow”, he again takes us inside the heart of the Southern USA with mind boggling results.
I wonder if the movie will see the light of day here in India, considering the strong adult content and sexual expletives. But the DVD’s are already out. So the next time you order something from Amazon, you might want to add this brilliant film.
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watching now : dreams (kurosawa)
listening now : wilco – sky blue sky
reading now : the sundance kids
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
well i downloaded this movie and saw it last week. found it to be utter crap. I sad work from thedirector who gave us “hustle and flow”
no way pulp..trash….loved the film….the early part of the film does set a different tone….but then these strong visuals make her relationship with the black guy so much more interesting….did not know what to expect when i saw it….was blown away….BRAVO…..Craig Brewer ^:)^
I liked the film. Not loved it. Though thats due to my high expectations. This was a commercial film I was excited about in a long time. I loved the poster. A slutty white girl chained by a middle aged black man. And I can watch anything with Samuel Jackson in it. Infact I even liked SNAKES ON THE PLANE last night.
I like that you share the stuff you are reading ,watching & listening to. I started this trend but I think people are too lazy to do it.
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Last Film – Snakes on the Plane (6/10)
Music – www.pandora.com
Reading – Imperial Life in Emerald City
hey, Mainak. I really won’t agree that this was a commercial film. I mean yes. it was but if Brewer really wanted this to be an absolutely commercial film, then he would have taken care not to include all the controversial stuff.
Yeah, I know.. sharing what you are reading and writing does help in knowing what the other freaks are up to.. yeah.. I picked it up from u. I guess everyone around here should be doing that.
BTW it’s really a harsh reality that after all these years in IT and later a film school, u are back to IT. Yeah it does pay well but then anyway.. more on it later..