Pre-Owned Black Snake Moan [Blu-ray]

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.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 inBlack Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimedHustle & 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, butBlack Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest.--Bret Fetzer Beyond Black Snake Moan The Soundtrack Stills from Black Snake Moan (click for larger image)