BLOGGING SUNDANCE: Snakes on a Moan

Some people will consider Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer's second feature after his triumphant debut at Sundance two years ago with Hustle & Flow, to be a powerfully involving story of redemption. Others will think that it's exploitative, directionless, and dumb. There is a middle ground, however, and I'll say this: At least it's not Hounddog. The other feature at Sundance set in the Deep South and featuring a sexually charged storyline, Moan has all the making of an excitingly edgy movie and the boldness to follow through on its promises. Brewer knows how to pull together a solid narrative, and Moan never gets boring. But despite all the strands of interest—a crestfallen, middle-aged blues man (Samuel L. Jackson) chains up a slutty white trash girl (Christina Ricci) and forces her to reform her ways—the movie lacks the proper spark that would've allowed the material to come to life.

As trailers for the picture played before Snakes on a Plane last summer, audiences were sometimes shocked and uncomfortable. Sure, we can rejoice in the cheesiness of excessive Jackson performances when he's in action hero mode, but a backwoods musician tying down a white girl and preaching to her about spiritual absolution? Yikes. However, Jackson's performance is one of his strongest in quite some time, particularly when he picks up his character's guitar and lets loose on the pentatonic. The title refers to a song that Jackson belts out during one of the movie's stronger moments, as Ricci's character completes the purification process. Unfortunately, her character feels trite and mindless, a horny monstrosity with an incessant appetite for deviant behavior. Unlike Hustle & Flow, which elegantly explored the dangers and difficulties of independent hip hop production, Moan doesn't carry any message other than "the blues come from a real sense of despair" and "base desires need to be suppressed." It basically just delivers on the promise of the posters. In other words, it's another Jackson movie with a snake in its title, and that's all the guidance you need in order to decide if you want to see it.