5 Jun 2007

Black Snake Moan

Director: Craig Brewer

Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake

Release: 2007-06-05

Writer-director Craig Brewer is a genuine maverick. Craig's last film, Hustle & Flow, was a story of a pimp who wanted to be a rap star. The film shocked everyone when it nabbed two Oscar nominations. It shocked them even more when it won Best Original Song for the song "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" - the first winner in Oscar's history to have words like "niggaz", "bitches" and "hoes".

Craig's latest film, Black Snake Moan, is as tacky as it sounds - but in a good way. Really. It combines elements of sensationalistic drama, B-grade kitsch, sharp humor and anything else Craig fancies. Christina Ricci plays a psychologically damaged trashy nymphomaniac who will sleep with anything and anyone. Samuel L Jackson plays psychologically damaged blues singer who decides to chain her up to his radiator and rehabilitate her himself. The possibilities are endless.

The film is so bizarre, rule-bending and politically incorrect that even Justin Timberlake agreed to co-star in it as Christina's boyfriend. He must have thought it would be fun.

And fun it is. We haven't seen a film this eager to break every Hollywood convention in quite a while. And since we LGBTs are quite familiar with the act of breaking conventions, we can happily give this the thumbs up!