Le Gémissement noir de Serpent

I had no intention of seeing this movie. Perhaps it was the infantile tone given via it's lame trailer or maybe it was that I just wasn't the target audience. I couldn't think of even the slightest inkling of a reason for me to sit through what is most often chronic overacting by Jackson and the pseudo-anime yawn that is Ricci.

Those things aside, for some reason as I was getting ready for work the other day, I happened to have left my TV on a movie channel that was showing Black Snake Moan and the dialog between Lazarus (Sam Jackson) and R.L. (John Cothran, Jr.) caught my attention. It wasn't anything deep, but it was honest and well-played. I decided to DVR it.

The movie features some of the best acting from Jackson we've seen since Pulp Fiction yet not quite so over-the-top. He gives the character depth and a genuineness that shows just how good Sam is if given direction and not allowed to do his bulging eyes maniacal black man routine.

Pretty much every actor gives a solid performance save Ricci, who's character Rae you love to hate/love/hate/love over and over and seriously over-acts her "in heat" scenes making the problem of which she's plagued WAY too over the top and far too animated to be taken seriously. That and she's just too skinny to be even remotely cute. But I digress.

This movie is well worth seeing and despite Ricci giving an "impossible to take serious" performance, she is still pretty good all things considered and this should in no way impede you watching it should the opportunity arise.

(((03)))