tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post2288401559460656926..comments2024-03-13T07:41:37.532-04:00Comments on Vic & Walter Thiessen - On Movies...: Black Snake MoanWalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391426206936180224noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post-30489997221146338062009-04-22T05:34:00.000-04:002009-04-22T05:34:00.000-04:00I finally got around to watching Black Snake Moan....I finally got around to watching Black Snake Moan. If you had liked it as much as I did, I probably would have done so sooner (i.e. your review made me want to give the film a chance but not make it a priority). <br /><br />I really like this film. It's far from perfect and the film does indeed feel like it has far too many cliches, but it is also a profoundly humanizing film (and I like humanzing films) that deals with pain and guilt and brokenness in unique ways. The redemption seems a bit simplistic but, for a raw independent film like this, with its unusual use of music (the "Black Snake Moan" scene was my favourite in the film and a classic film moment) that was somewhat forgivable. The "making of", which is excellent, describes the film as a fable and I think that puts things into perspective a little. <br /><br />The acting is great, the cinematography appropriate and the writing often very good. There is a deleted scene between Laz and the woman from the drug store that I wish had been kept in the film (though I can undersand why it was left out) and there is a great commentary on this scene about sin, salvation and community. There is another deleted scene in which Laz reads at length from the Gospels to a cooling Rea in the bathtub which also could have been left in the film.<br /><br />I certainly understand your concerns about the exploitation factor of having a semi-naked woman in chains at the heart of the film. The special features make it clear that the writer/director (Craig Brewer) was aware of this and that it was a careful and deliberate part of the fable, and I suspect the distributors were mainly to blame for the way this was used in advertising, but it does seem to push the boundaries of decency (for lack of a better word) a little too far. To put it another way, I don't feel comfortable with the audience which might be attracted to the cover and some of the content of this film. Nevertheless, I think the message of the film, cliched as it might be, is an important one and that this too might get through to whomever is watching it.<br /><br />A fascinating, weird, raw and different kind of film that gets ***+ from me.Vichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12090966032076073337noreply@blogger.com