Great acting, pity about the plot.

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2007)

The acting in this film was amazing - true soul baring stuff. JT was surprisingly good, and Jackson and Ricci proved that they deserve to be as well regarded as they are. The direction and script were also very good, the camera work and naturalistic dialogue immersed the audience into the Deep South. The film is worth viewing for the acting alone, and it is an interesting and thought provoking piece.
However, the idea that Lazarus could 'cure' Rae by chaining her up? I get it was a metaphor for forging connections etc, but what sort of message is the film maker trying to send? No human being should take that sort of power over another, and by making their situation work out in the movie Craig Brewer endorses this idea of 'neccessary' hierarchy - one person or body taking control of another because they think they know better. That sort of thinking led to the British Empire and colonialism, and even the war in Iraq. The fact that it was a man chaining up a woman was both provocative and a sign of the sexism that is still prevalent in our society. Just because a movie has something deep to say about 'man's condition', or because it has interesting and unusual characters in doesn't excuse a gratuitous use of nudity which was just to stir up controversy and attract attention. I'm not saying that Brewer is a chauvinist with a god complex, just that he didn't think this movie through enough and with the actors he had and his obvious talent for writing/directing he could have made this movie so much more. The confrontation between Rae and her mother, the dancing scene at the bar, and when Lazarus plays 'Black Snake Moan' gave us glimpses of what Brewer could achieve, and hopefully someday will.