DVD of the Week: Black Snake Moan

Despite some early controversy, or perhaps because of it, Craig Brewer's latest slice of Southern Gothic cinema, Black Snake Moan, received a shrug of indifference at the box office when it opened in March. It's hard to blame the film, though, as it was launched in wide release as a "Samuel L. Jackson movie" despite its decidedly art house leanings, making it maybe a bit too mainstream for the indie crowds and a bit too artsy for the mainstream ones. The film details what's probably the most unconventional form of involuntary therapy: A religious man named Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) chains a self-destructive nymphomaniac named Ray to his radiator and demands that she find redemption and self worth before he releases her. It's not nearly as abusive or malicious as it may seem. Lazarus has authentically good natured intentions and however raw his treatment may be his results are positive. Ray and Lazarus bond over their past woes and come together in a friendship that might save both their lives.