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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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Black Snake Moan
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Seen, Heard, Noted & Quoted
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by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
My interview with Craig Brewer was shaping up to be an interesting discussion of his motivations and other important related racial issues regarding Brewer’s daring and provocative film Black Snake Moan. Just when we were getting deeply into our interview, he had to cut it short. However, we talked about some important questions regarding the symbolism of the chain and the sensitive racial issues of the film in the short time we had.
In the movie, Christina Ricci plays Rae, an abused young woman who is suffering from a psychotic sexual addiction. One night she is gang raped and left for dead beside the road. A bitter old blues singer Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) turned farmer, whose wife recently left him, takes her in and helps her heal from her injuries. Her boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) has been called back to Iraq and Rae was in a drug and alcohol induced stupor when she was raped. When Lazarus finds out Rae has “sexual spells” and wanders off, he chains her up to a radiator for her own good.
My interpretation of the chain was that it was symbolic of her mental illness. So I asked Brewer if that was accurate? His answer was as interesting as it was surprising.
“Actually, the chain symbolized my period of being out-of-control. I see the chain as a visual metaphor for an intervention–to shock me out of my craziness. Also, Ronnie has anxiety attacks which I suffered from as well. So much of the story is autobiographical using the characters and fictional story as metaphors and symbols. Basically the story is Southern Gothic with my real life as a model.”
Then we discussed the touchy racial aspects of the story. The poster implies that Lazarus is holding Rae captive as a sex slave. However, he is trying to help her. He never has sex with her. Granted the chain is extreme, but after the initial shock of finding herself chained up, Rae begins to see its value and it’s a strange comfort to her. I asked Brewer if this was his intention.
“Yes, the chain is extreme but Lazarus didn’t know what else to do. He later finds out that Rae’s “sexual spells” are being exploited by the town pimp. In a scene when Rae kisses Lazarus, who pushes her away, I could feel the people wince. So the racial aspects of the film are still touchy to some people,” Brewer said
I told Brewer that I saw the film as three broken people, Lazarus, Rae and Ronnie, who found each other and race had nothing to do with their relationships. He agreed.
“Yes the story is about these three characters finding kindred spirits who care for them and can help them overcome their serious mental problems. Ronnie is sent home from Iraq on a medical discharge because of his anxiety attacks and goes to Rae despite her infidelities, which, early in their relationship, he knew about. Lazarus is helped by his helping Rae. And, Rae’s love of Ronnie is a shaky start to her recovery,” Brewer said.
In a poignant scene, Lazarus plays the blues for Rae. She finds it soothing. Then he returns to performing to help himself heal from his wife, telling him she didn’t love him anymore and running off with his brother.
Alas, that ended our chat. Brewer was an articulate voice on the other end of the phone. I could have chatted with him for an hour, but he had many interviews to get done. So I understood. It was short and sweet.
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