Alex Aloise - Black Snake Moan

Black Snake Moan, the new film from Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer, stars Samuel L. Jackson as an old Southern blues musician. He leaves his house one morning and finds a young woman lying beaten and unconcious by the side of the road. The woman, played by Christina Ricci is a town local who had gotten drunk the night before and was raped by a friend. Jackson's character takes the woman into his home and looks after her as she recovers from her ordeal. While in town one day, the man asks some of the people if they know this girl. They tell him that she is quite the nymphomaniac. The old man returns to his home and proceeds to wrap a huge chain around the girl's waist, connecting her to the radiator in the middle of his house. The old man is determined to get rid of the "demon" that is inside the girls and cure her of her sinful ways. The film is a story of salvation and redemption. As their relationship progresses, the two characters form an understanding of one another. He helps her deal with her sexual issues while she helps him to reconnect with the man he used to be. Both characters experience Purgation and Illumination in the film. In a pivotal scene the girl asks the man to play her one of his old blues songs. He pulls out his old electric guitar and begins to play a powerful tune. As he sings the girl clutches his legs and watches from his feet. The weather outside is stormy. Rain is falling and lighting is constantly crashing. This is the critical point in the story where both characters become fully cleansed of their demons (as illustrated by the rain). The film presented these themes of Purgation and Illumination in a very entertaining, interesting way. It may even be a good movie to use for future versions of this class.