Moaning in pleasure

Reason No. 1 why Black Snake Moan is awesome: the line, "Kiss my rebel cooch, ya faggot."

Reason No. 2 why Black Snake Moan is awesome:

This shirt.

Near and dear to my heart, I tell you.

[Spoilers abound below, of course.]

I get why people didn't get Black Snake Moan when it was released earlier this year (that is, if its minuscule gross can be attributed to America's collective consciousness, which, hello capitalism, it can). The movie is, primarily, ridiculous. Director Craig Brewer, whose down white-boy disposition I relate to wholeheartedly here and in his first film Hustle & Flow (which I also looooooove), describes Moan as a "fable" more than once in the just-released DVD's extras. That's about half right -- it's a story book with a rotted spine, lurid and as potentially tasteless as any exploitation movie. I read some awesome quote from Robert Rodriuguez around the time Grindhouse was released that I can't find now that defined exploitation cinema as having an unmistakable, shocking angle (his comments here about "exploitable elements" come close). And so does Moan. Even if it has more star power than your average exploitation film (Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci and Justin Timberlake), no one can outshine the film's extraordinary, baggage-filled premise: older, religious black man chains younger, white woman to his radiator to cure her of her slutacious ways. What actor could compete with that?

I understand why a premise like that isn't appealing to many people. As a culture, we tend to appreciate outlandishness when it assaults our senses and not our intellect (see: every fucking action and horror movie in the history of cinema). Yet, I can't help but feel like people are missing out. This is Brewer's second film, and, more to the point, his second music-themed film -- Hustle was hip-hop and this here's blues (country- and soul-based features are on the way, per his Moan commentary). As far-out as Moan's premise is, it's brought back down to earth via its blues roots. In my fairly limited familiarity with the genre, it's my understanding that blues, like jazz, soul and modern R&B, is based on the cliché -- love, unrequited love, longing, being done wrong, doing somebody wrong, feeling sad, feeling blue. Blues legend Son House opens Moan, underscoring this point somewhat coherently:

"Ain't but one kinda blues. And that consisted between male and female that's in love. In love, just like I sung one of them songs a while ago and I put a verse in there saying that love hide all fault and make you do things you don't wanna do. Love sometimes will leave you feeling sad and blue. I'm talkin' about the blues! I ain't talkin' about monkey junk! And it consisted between male and female, and that means two people supposed to be in love when one or the other deceives the other through their love."

It's not so much the sentiment itself, but the delivery combined with the sentiment that makes the songs real. It's all about overcoming the constraints of the form. Movies are not songs, obviously, but Brewer does a similar sort of cliché rallying with a slight twist -- his characters speak and find themselves in situations that are either just short of clichéd or just beyond clichéd. I'm not sure if this is an intentional commentary on the inherent triteness of mankind that's in a constant struggle with the notion of individuality, or if it's just something that Brewer inadvertently does (and has done -- Hustle & Flow turned the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold cliché on its ear by presenting a pimp with a heart of gold), but either way, it makes an unreal film seem plausible. Clichés are Black Snake Moan's life force.

Take the basic set-up of Moan, as described above: from a racial standpoint, Brewer would seem to be inverting the centuries-old image of a Southern black man chained up on a plantation owned by whites:

Here, the colors are switched and it's Lazarus (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who owns the farm.

From a sexual standpoint, the woman-in-bondage scenario is jumbled by Brewer, as well. Lazarus doesn't tie up and imprison Rae (Christina Ricci's character) for his sexual gratification but for her own good -- soon after he finds her beaten and left for dead on the side of the road, it becomes clear that she's a nymphomaniac who'd, in the words of one character, fuck a tree. "God seen fit to put you in my path and I aim to cure you of your wickedness," he tells her. What would Jesus do? Charm school via chains? Probably not, but a presentation of what Jesus would do would seem rote, anyway.

Rae isn't your average nympho, either. She's one with a physiological condition that makes her act the way she does -- she gets something like vapors, except hers emanate amyl nitrate.

Post intermission No. 1: Let's take a minute to appreciate the fact that Christina Ricci has NEVER. BEEN. HOTTER. than in this film.

(Is the forced up-turned nose a subtle preview for Penelope?)

It's as though having to play trash has gotten her close to her close to her primal nature. If Aphrodite was born of sea foam, Christina was surely born of Cheez Whiz.

Anyway, the slightly skewed clichés keep rolling -- literally.

After Lazarus' wife (Rose) informs him that she's no longer in love with him, he destroys her rose bush with a bulldozer. While its implications are immediately clear, I've never quite seen imagery like this before -- this is something between a bull in a china shop and the awareness that every rose has its thorn.

And then there's the fact that it's Lazarus' brother that's his wife's new man. A confrontation between the two almost turns fatal:

Abel is almost slain by...Lazarus?

In one of the movie's most overt cliché-busting moments, Lazarus tells his brother, "You took her into your bed...you got to lay in it." The journey is different (we don't even know if the bed was made!), but the result is the same. This is much like Lazarus' remorse that comes out when he reflects upon losing his virginity. "Shit, I remember my first time was out behind my uncle's barn with my second cousin. That girl musta weighed two tons if she weighed a pound. Coulda done a lot better for myself." He's not regretting that he fucked his cousin, but that he fucked a big girl. Ah, Southern irony.

Post intermission No. 2: While we're on the subject of big, please allow me to gush about David Banner, who's in two scenes as Rae's fuck buddy-cum-hustler with a heart of gold.

The man is gorgeously imperfect -- hard and soft in all the right places. Muscle chunk is the new chunk.

He seriously has me convinced that stretch marks are sexy. I have to take a cold bath, and unlike the otherwise in-heat Rae, it's not to treat a fever.

And then there's Ronnie, Rae's boyfriend who never settles on being a tough guy or a pussy or one inside the other (i.e. tough exterior, weak interior, or vice versa) -- he's both at once.

(Disclosure: Justin Timberlake cries a lot in this movie and I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see him weep.)

Ronnie is shipped off to Iraq (or somewhere) only to return days later because his anxiety makes him an unfit soldier. Before he leaves however, he puts a new spin on an old classic: he synchronizes watches not for battle but for love (something that a lover and a fighter would do).

He sets each watch's alarm for the same time so that when it goes off, they'll think of each other and be united (cue "Somewhere Out There").

The best scene featuring Ronnie, however, is his first, a sex scene featuring him and Rae. Basically it goes like this: a little foreplay, then at 0:1:32, the sex begins.

At 0:1:51 it is over.

That isn't a cliché, it's just the fucking truth.

Post intermission No. 3: Rounding out the trilogy of hotness is Ruby Wilson.

Early in the film, she tells Lazarus: "Ain't no better cure for the blues than some good pussy." Again: not a cliché, the fucking truth.

The blues plays more of a role in the film than the guiding hand I've explored it as thus far -- Lazarus is a blues musician, a man of God playing the devil's music (how's that for slamming together clichés?).

In the film's centerpiece scene, Lazarus plays for Rae during a fantastically powerful rainstorm (you could say that God's on backup). He sings Lemon Jefferson's "Black Snake Moan." The song was written by Lemon as a sort of exorcism of his personal demon of blindness. Lazarus sings it to describe to Rae his demon of his wife's abortion (he wanted a child throughout their relationship, but when she finally got pregnant, she terminated it). It's virtually sacramental, this sharing of demons. Lazarus is opening up to show that Rae's not the only one who's vexed. Being vexed, in fact, part of the human condition.

 

And that's the point of the film, and, in my limited understanding of the musical form, it's the point of the blues -- everybody's got them, it's just how they hit you. We're all riffing on the same 12 bars of misery. It's all the same shit, different body. "I think we're both fucked up," says Rae to Ronnie as they're patching things up (things like, you know, her rampant cheating). Her words aren't a point of contention; they're a tie that binds.

The only aspect of Black Snake Moan that rings false to me is its most straightforward perpetuation of a cliché -- we come to find out that Rae was molested at a young age by one of her mother's boyfriends, and that's why she acts the way she does. Perhaps it was necessary to neatly explain Rae's messy, whorish behavior to make sure the audience doesn't miss out on liking her, but it's too simple, too base for such a quirky picture. That point is the equivalent of a pop song I've heard too many times and am totally sick of.

Even though Rae's molestation is key, it doesn't get in the way of the film. The material is otherwise too rich and, frankly, exciting to be bogged down by little old cliché.

It, in fact, turns itself inside out and inverts its own cliché by the end -- at their wedding, Ronnie seals their bond by fastening around her hips a smaller, gold version of the chain she once wore. What used to be a symbol of her prison (inside and out) now is a symbol of her freedom to love. What used to be a point of resistance is now something to embrace. It goes to show that there's no bondage without a bond. It's a point that's trite, true and perfect.

Comments

[big mike]

this is excellent.

[Golden Lady]

This was really cool, and makes me actually want to see the movie. When I first saw the preview, my reaction was WTF. I figured it wasn't what it appeared, but I never got around to seeing it.

[Genevieve]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I LOVED that movie and have been trying to get others to see it. Couldn't have given it a better review.

[rose]

Thanks for the review. I hadn't planned on ever seeing this, but I've now changed my mind. Onward to Netflix!

[Hateraid]

Your review is incredible. I am off to see this film.

[Bobby]

I guess it's unfortunate that hype has such an impact on what we (I?) think of film. I might be able to stand Brewer's movies if they were presented as exploitative. Yours is the first review I've seen that doesn't accept Black Snake Moan as an earnest and serious piece.

[Rainbucket]

I loved this movie, and have the damndest time explaining to people why it was so good. Now I can just send them here, you've done it brilliant justice.

Another odd little inversion was at the blues concert. You have your redemption en masse with the sweaty, sultry, yet ultimately innocent dancing. And Lazarus sings a version of Stagger Lee from the bad guy's point of view, gleefully boasting about wanton murder. It's like everything painted in wrong-color highlights to make the picture agonize into life.

[Jason]

While I love your interpretation of the film, I'm still not ready to love the film itself. Did it seem like Craig Brewer understood his film as being exploitation, or did he stick to his "fable" talk in the DVD's extras?

My chief concern when I saw the film was related to the main objection you raise, about Rae's childhood sexual abuse and how that is cited as the root of her slutacious behavior. It seems to be saying a woman can only be truly free while in bondage to men - first a father figure, and then a husband. Her sexuality cannot be trusted to flow of its own accord; it must be forcefully channeled by men.

While ironic po-mo audiences can only understand this as exploitation/satire, those of us from conservative Christian backgrounds know that this perspective is only too real, wherein a woman's sexuality is seen as a result of some perceived sin; it's not as easy for us to detach from the story and delight in its alleged "ridiculous" nature.

Anyway, this is running a bit long for a "comment," but I guess after your review of "Hostel II" I was expecting a bit more of a feminist critique of this film, even if that would seem inappropriate considering BSM's over-the-top nature.

Your right, David Banner does look good

[Robert]

"every fucking action and horror movie in the history of cinema"

I thought I knew you, but now I'm not sure. Horror films can be smart too, most recently 1408 which has done quite well for itself.

Love the post otherwise, but I got to stand up for my genre. Horror is worthless without a brain behind it.

[hyp]

thats great and all but DAVID BANNER in the mirror got to me im so happy to finally publicize that i find that man too damn sexy

[Mike V.]

The Blues and a nekkid Ricci? Sounds like fun to me.
I'm going to learn how to play Black Snake Moan and post it in You Tube for you.. :)

[Audrey]

Excellent review, Rich!
I understand your issue with the "Rae is a nympho because she was molested/raped by her dad and her mom knew and let it happen" part in the film. Yeah, it did feel a little Lifetime-y. But I think it was meant to de-glamourize Rae's nymphomania and make you symphathize with her character's struggle rather than just see her as a sex-crazed hottie (which she still was, obviously).

[Ian]

I really wanted to see this when it came out but missed it... seems like I missed out on a great movie.

[ME]

I saw this movie the day it came out!! I loved it and could not explain it to anyone. I will send them to your site for you review. This is a great synopsis. oh and Rich FYI. My ex-boyfriend looked and was built just like David Banner. Jealous aren't you!!!

[oi vey]

i am not getting on a soap box here. but i do think that women who were the would-be audience for this movie are also sick of seeing women 'freed' by being put in chains. the sentiment is a male fantasy done so often its been tired for ages now. moan was marketed to look like refiltered porn, nothing new, why drop the bucks? and thats why i think it bombed in the theater.
i loved hustle and flow and i love tarentino and rodreguez's films. but they have powerful kick-ass, albiet flawed, women in them.

[homo shame]

Rich...you never cease to amaze me with your genius or your good taste. Thanks for the killer good review/analysis!

[bluefish A]

Jason wrote:
"My chief concern when I saw the film was related to the main objection you raise, about Rae's childhood sexual abuse and how that is cited as the root of her slutacious behavior. It seems to be saying a woman can only be truly free while in bondage to men - first a father figure, and then a husband. Her sexuality cannot be trusted to flow of its own accord; it must be forcefully channeled by men."
that's the impression i received from both this and "hustle and flow" -race trumps gender and women need their sexuality either controlled or doled out by a man.
and about christina ricci looking hot- beaten down women with haunted eyes and visible ribs are the new hawt. hurray.
what misogyny.

[JohnnyBoy]

Not that I cared much for the movie, but I wanted to compliment you on your use of slutacious, and that you were able to use it with a straight face despite the parallels to Charm School. In fact, I bet you'd even be a better CS principal than Mo'nique... just ask Pumkin.

[Andrew]

"As a culture, we tend to appreciate outlandishness when it assaults our senses and not our intellect (see: every fucking action and horror movie in the history of cinema)."

You mean that the only widely appreciated horror/action movies are the ones that only assault our senses, and that we neglect the ones who challenge the intellect... right? Because that sentence can be taken in other ways which don't seem very you-ish.

[Nick]

Ya know...I just couldn't get into this movie. I was really looking forward to it...and then I just couldn't focus.

I don't know...maybe I need to give it another shot. Although this time I should try it without my boyfriend since he tends to talk through movies (argh...pet peeve).

Oh, and this:
"If Aphrodite was born of sea foam, Christina was surely born of Cheez Whiz."

...was hysterical.

I heart your posts, Rich.

[Miss Windjammer]

Great review! I just watched Black Snack Moan this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I feel like a lot of people may not "get" the movie, but it's a really interesting, thought provoking ride. And who wasn't glad to see JT weep?

[Miss Windjammer]

Great review! I just watched Black Snack Moan this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I feel like a lot of people may not "get" the movie, but it's a really interesting, thought provoking ride. And who wasn't glad to see JT weep?

[Jessica]

God, I fucking loved this movie. I went to see it in the theatres when it came out and could not for the life of me convince others of how much better it was than the reviews were saying it was. I think this review hit all the right points that I couldn't really explain.

I agree that the story was so out there that the actors couldn't compete with it, but you have to admit -- Sam Jackson's performance certainly helped in understanding and liking Lazarus for the tortured Christian he was. I'm not sure I can think of another actor that could have played the role and made me feel so strongly about the character.

Cut out the several "motherfuckers" and "niggas" that he screams at various points in the movie and I'd say this was a different-in-a-good-way kind of character for him.

[Summer]

When my bf brought this movie home last weekend, I was like Why? and he told me he bought it b/c it received 2 thumbs up. We were engrossed and thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe I loved it soo much because my expectations were soo low. I agree with your review almost to a tee. The cliche's and quick wrap ups (molestation explanation, marriage and belly chain) could have been done better, but on the whole it was a thought provoking, interesting, and disturbing film. I was impressed once again by the director and I wish this movie would have been marketed better so that more people would have gone to see it.