Christina Ricci Movie:

		List Price: $12.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 8022 Released: June 26, 2007
		Our Price: $5.99
		Used Price: $1.68
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
When ex-blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds the town nymphomaniac Rae (Christina Ricci) left for dead on the side of the road, he vows to nurse her back to health…and cure her of her wickedness. Until then, she’ll be chained to the immovable radiator in his home. But Lazarus has demons of his own: his wife just left him for his own brother. While Lazarus and Rae struggle to fix their broken lives, the situation threatens to explode as Rae's boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) — a roughneck soldier just back from Iraq — comes searching for his missing lover.

Description of Black Snake Moan:
The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones--several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humor. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. --Bret Fetzer

Beyond Black Snake Moan

The Soundtrack

More Music Stars on DVD

More DVDs with Samuel L. Jackson

Black Snake Moan Reviews:
A little bit more than just sexy exploitation junk
2009-10-22 - I've got to admit, I got this for less than noble reasons, perhaps even prurient ones. Christina Ricci running around near-naked for the whole film? That's something I have to see...

OK, enough of the dirty old man act. EXCEPT, that's what the film is aiming at, isn't it? The poster -- the ads -- the first scene -- this is going to be an exploitation film, and an over the top one at that: nubile, waifish nymphomaniac Rae (Ricci) ends up bloodied and beaten, on farmer and ex-bluesman Lazarus' (Samuel L Jackson) doorstep, just at the moment when Jackson seems about ready to go 'round the bend.

So Lazarus, after nursing the physically sick Rae back to health over a couple of days does what any rural farmer in the south would do with a woman half his age and of another race -- he chains her to a radiator in some odd misguided effort to cleanse her of "evil spirits" or some such nonsense; it's never spelled out very explicitly just what Lazarus believes, or doesn't believe, he can do.

There's plenty of sleazy, trashy fun to be had here; our heroine does indeed run around in next to nothing for nearly the whole film, and Jackson's tortured musician Lazarus embodies a whole lot of fun southern black stereotypes -- and I do mean fun; this is certainly a film that tries to avoid racism at all costs. If anything, it's saying that sure, blacks and white are a little different -- they're just messed up in different ways, and we'd best try to understand that, because we're all in it together. They certainly are in director Craig Brewer's vision of the mid-south -- this small town has to be the best-integrated place in America.

But never mind all that. The film moves, the dialogue is mostly crisp, the acting (especially, and surprisingly, by Justin Timberlake as Ricci's rather confused boyfriend Ronnie) is solid. The biggest problem that it has I think, is that it doesn't know whether to continue down the sordid route, or attempt a little morality play and make nice at the end. Unfortunately it goes the latter route and ends up feeling too nicey-nice, but there was enough realistic local color and heart to the whole thing that I still found myself enjoying it.

Where the hell were the Oscar nominations?!?
2009-10-03 - This is a movie that the Academy somehow overlooked. Not since "Saving Private Ryan" lost Best Picture to a sub-average "Shakespeare in Love" have I been so perplexed as to "what were they thinking?". Black Snake Moan is a cool, sexy movie with a lot of class. Samuel Jackson finally gets a movie worthy of his talent (best work since "Pulp Fiction" and "The Negotiator", and Christina Ricci is worthy of a best actress nod as well. The story is dark, the music is soulfull, and the movie was at the top of my "must own" list.

horrible
2009-08-31 - The only movie I have ever had to walk out on. Pure garbage. Horrible plot, acting, and theme. It was offensive, just for the sake of being offensive.

A movie just as strange as its title
2009-08-21 -
I will spare you the long paragraph and just say what is great about this movie.
"Christina Ricci a sex addict half naked in chains". Yes, this is what makes this film worth your time. Aside from the fact that Christina Ricci graces you with her amazing body and seductive ways for 115 minutes, Black Snake Moan actually has an interesting story. The movie itself is strange, and had the right actors for the parts. That is all except for Justin Timberlake, who has no business on any Cinema screen. He is a music performer, he should keep it that way. His parts almost de-rail the film as he doesn't look as if he belongs in the movie at all. With that said and out the way the rest of the movie is great. It's not A+ amazing, but Christina Ricci's character makes it all worth your while. Samuel L. Jackson plays another one of his oddball character rolls. This time he is a halfway crazy man (that's pretty good for a Samuel L. role) who wants to shed some light in the world. I'm not really sure what compelled him to out of no where decide to start helping Rae change her life. It seemed as though he was pretty off the wall and down on his own luck himself, then all of a sudden he is a religious warrior spreading good and cleansing the wicked. I think that transition is the only part of the movie that could have used more explaining. It made the things Samuel L. did seem akward because very little of the story was shed on what compelled him to save Rae, other than he found her on the road. With that aside it's hard to say anything bad about a plot that is focused around on a half naked Christina Ricci. Matter of fact suprisingly how easily this movie could of just been written off as ranchy, it never really crosses that line. It's actually about a caring man trying to help a young woman. Samuel L's character can only do but so much for Rae before he leaves it all up to her. Ironically in a movie that's so far from reality, it does have a sense of realism to it. **possible spoiler**Rae is never fully cured, but she now has the understanding of how she can ease and control her desires. That is the gift that Samuel L. gave to her. Overall Black Snake Moan was an interesting movie well worth checking out. It's not bad, it's not unbelievably amazing, it's just all out plain "good". and that makes it a 5 star film under my watch.

PS. I was going to take a star away for Justing Timberlake being in the film, but Christina Ricci's rebel girl outfit brought it back.

Hot Video
2009-08-09 - A very hot, steamy video. Very good acting and a hot, humid atmosphere. Well worth watching. A keeper. The music is great, and Ricci and Jackson do a great acting job.