"Black Snake Moan" drips in atmosphere, but it's clichéd, meandering, and mostly offensive. Samuel L. Jackson plays a Tennessee blues man looking for redemption and find his chance by "helping" stereotypical white trash Christina Ricci. After finding a drunken, half-naked, and beat up Ricci along the roadside, he chains her to his radiator in order to provide tough love until she agrees to change her party girl ways. Yep, the film is just that offensive! Jackson and Ricci are both strong actors and are compulsively watchable, even when they're saddled with garbage like this, but it's only their screen presence that makes this film barely watchable.

You can always expect a competent performance from Samuel L. Jackson, but Christina Ricci is simply outstanding here in her role as the white trash town whore Rae, devastated by her boyfriend's enlistment in the Army. Some will see this as a sexploitation film, what with Ricci's nearly naked body on display most of the time, and the theatrical poster suggesting a bondage theme to titillate potential movie goers. The picture itself is a bit more complex than that, examining the fragile relationship between a down and out former blues man and the woman he's attempting to cure of her sex addiction. What didn't quite ring true for me was the idea that Lazarus (Jackson) didn't know who Rae was when he found her by the side of the road. Seems like everyone else in town knew about her and her sordid reputation. For her part, Rae's unbridled lust to get it on with anything that moved seemed seriously hyped; that scene suggesting her seduction of young Lincoln (Neimus K. Williams) went clearly over the top. This isn't the type of film one seeks out for it's entertainment value because it's pretty bleak most of the time, though the redemption theme gets to play out in due course, even if the credibility factor gets stretched to the max. I thought the story was a good one, and if you're a fan of blues music, the bar scene when Jackson brings out the Gibson ES-335 is a cool bonus.

I finally got around to watching this film last evening. I had avoided it based on some reviews and the nasty impression most of the film's publicity and advertising gave me, especially the images. I believe that by pandering to that part of the public that looks for nothing but "sex and violence" in their entertainment, the publicists removed any opportunity for the film to be taken seriously. And it should be taken seriously.Had this film been a foreign film produced during the 1960s or 1970s, for example, it wouldn't have been promoted so inanely and at such a primitive level. It would have been pushed as a sensitive study of two very troubled lovers caught up in a tangle of suffering and misunderstanding. Minus the level 50 IQ posters of half naked women in chains, the story would have a chance to be seen for what it is.I like this film. I like it a lot and it had nothing to do with Ms. Ricci gallivanting around in the all together. I liked it because I understood it and my guess is that most of the critics that panned this film haven't seen enough life to understand what they were really watching.Bravo to the writers, cast and director for a beautiful, sensitive piece of work and shame, shame on the low life Hollywood hucksters that brought the entire advertising campaign of an adult film down to their own gutter level juvenile thought process. This film has my highest recommendation.

(57%) First off straight away the movie doesn't work, it leans too heavily into exploitation sleaze as well as lacking real substance for it to be in any way a thoughtful drama, and it's not entertaining enough, and dare I say it, too well made/performed for it to be truly fun drive-in movie throwback. What comes painfully close to saving this movie is Mr Samuel L. Jackson giving one of his better performances yet, he really is superb; while Christina Ricci puts out a no holding back performance of a character who wouldn't be out of place in a 1970's softcore sex picture with the direction almost ogling her largely semi-nude screen time at every opportunity. For the performances alone this is just about worth a look, but it's not a repeat watch or something that needs to be seen.