“Black Snake Moan” sounded like a bad movie from its marketing. It seemed as if it were some kind of cheesy independent movie that would offend with graphic sexual content. Pleasantly surprising though, it was about a character's path from depravity to healing. Rae is a deeply flawed woman who tries to self medicate through sex, which came from a past of sexual abuse. There are scenes of graphic sex, and they are unpleasant. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion and wishing you could stop the carnage. She is so self-destructive, and the men who take advantage of her frail psychological state speed that destruction. In some ways, her story is similar to ours as a human race, as many of us search for love and meaning by filling the void with wonton lust for (fill in the blank- It’s not just sex that we pursue). She certainly takes her search to more extremes than the average person, but the underlying cause was the same: desire for the perfect relationship.
Rae thinks that sex equal relationships, which should lead to meaning and acceptance. This philosophy leads her to have many graphic "relationships" in the course of the first part of the movie. She is also uncomfortable with her own promiscuity, but her abuse has skewed the way she approaches relationships. It's as if she enjoys the physical act, but knows that her soul is dying with each illicit affair. She uses drugs to numb the psychological pain and to lose her inhibitions. This literally leads her to the gutter outside of Lazarus' house, a Christian who curses like a sailor. Samuel L. Jackson does such a good job in this role, a man who has lived a hard life, whose wife has left him because she found a man to meet the needs he wasn't providing. Alone and bitter, he finds Rae in the dirt, bloody and unconscious. Taking her in, he nurses her back to physical health. Knowing her by reputation, he knows what to expect. Her advances on him are rejected. He's not fooled by this immature girl, and vows to rehabilitate her. The methods he uses are unorthodox, but Lazarus is an unorthodox man, and it’s an unorthodox film.
Rae fights at first, but Lazarus chips away patiently. One of the most touching scenes is when he goes to a women's clothing store to buy a dress for her. He asks the ladies working there to help him find a dress that isn't scandalous, but will make her feel pretty when she wears it. This is a critical distinction, and it's this dress that starts Rae's path to health as her identity is changed from that as a worthless person to one of true beauty.
This movie isn't for the faint-hearted. It pulls no punches; it's in your face. Conservatives would most likely be offended by the content, but real life should not be ignored. Real suffering exists in the world, and this film shows the distance real love and forgiveness is willing to go. It’s real, not some sugared “redemption story” with a weak plot. Suffering cannot be muted, because that would mute the need for hope in a broken world. A broken world it is in the beginning of the movie, but a redeemed world is depicted by the end. Certainly one that isn't perfect, that still requires courage and strength to navigate. Without that courage and strength, however, the world becomes bleak again. Where does this courage and strength come from? The answer is at the end of the movie, which you’ll have to watch to find out!
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