Black Snake Moan (2006)

A God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.

Director:

Craig Brewer

Writer:

Craig Brewer

Stars:

Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Lazarus
Christina Ricci	...	Rae
Justin Timberlake	...	Ronnie
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Angela
John Cothran	...	Reverend R.L.
David Banner	...	Tehronne
Michael Raymond-James	...	Gill
Adriane Lenox	...	Rose Woods
Kim Richards	...	Sandy
Neimus K. Williams	...	Lincoln
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Deke Woods
Ruby Wilson	...	Mayella
Claude Phillips	...	Bojo
Amy Lavere	...	Jesse
Clare Grant	...	Kell

Storyline

In rural Tennessee, Lazarus, a former blues musician who survives by truck farming, finds a young girl nearly beaten to death near his home. She's the white-trash town tramp, molded by a life of sexual abuse at the hands of her father and verbal abuse from her mother, who seems to delight in reminding Rae of her mistake in not aborting her. Lazarus, who is also facing personal crisis at the dissolution of his marriage, nurses Rae back to health, providing her with gentle, fatherly advice as well as an education in blues music. Rae's boyfriend, Ronnie, goaded by the man who nearly beat Rae to death, misunderstands the relationship between Lazarus and Rae, and vows to kill him. Lazarus, exhibiting a street-smart understanding of violence and its motives, calls Ronnie's bluff, senses that he is as troubled as Rae, and becomes a guiding force in the young couple's resurrection.

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Plot Keywords:

nymphomaniac | sexual abuse | anxiety | musician | blues music | 

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Taglines:

Everything is hotter down south.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christina Ricci revealed in an interview that she wasn't the filmmakers' first choice for the role. "They didn't even want me to audition. But I bleached my hair, auditioned and they still weren't fully convinced. They were worried I wasn't going to be sexual enough, so my agents and publicist just inundated them with sexy images of me. Eventually they said, 'OK, we'll hire her.'"

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Goofs

The shape and location of the scar on Lazarus's right shoulder changes several times through out the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Son House: Ain't but one kind of 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 talking about the blues! I ain't talking 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 ...

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Connections

Featured in Movie Rehab: Black Snake Moan (2019)

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Soundtracks

Lord Have Mercy On Me
Written by Junior Kimbrough
Performed by Outrageous Cherry
Courtesy of Fat Possum Records

User Reviews

Not What You Expect Going In...Pleasantly Surprised Walkng Out

Me and my roommate got free tickets for a Pre Screening I guess you would call it in Atlanta, GA at Atlantic Station. Walking in I was expecting something controversial, provocative, unnecessarily overdone, etc.. But the film is much more than that. It's a story of two people helping each other. It's not overdone, and the film is done in a careful balance as to not make you cringe or say its unnecessary.

It's put together really well and doesn't take itself too seriously. Thats the beauty of it. If it tried to take itself seriously, it would have failed miserably, but instead it carries itself through humor (some unintentional) and some surprisingly good acting by Ricci. Although Timberlake fails miserably in his role, the movie is good enough for you to put that on the side.

I would definitely recommend this movie, if not for any other reason than the fact it is something different to experience.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Snake Moan

Filming Locations:

Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,143,199, 4 March 2007

Gross USA:

$9,396,870

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,907,485

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Classics, New Deal Productions, Southern Cross the Dog Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1