Published: March 09, 2007 11:07 am         

‘Snake’ has a heart

Other movies would kill for the soundtrack. Christina Ricci plays a nymphomaniac. And Samuel L. Jackson’s in it.

What’s to like about “Black Snake Moan”? What’s not to like? “Moan” gets three of The News’ coveted leaves just by showing up.

“Black Snake Moan” also has enough heart to raise it several notches above exploitation flick — it’s a movie that seems to care about what happens to the messed-up people in it.

“Moan” opens with Rae (Ricci) and her beau Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) in a display of mutual fondness. Ronnie departs for military duty. Rae’s fidelity lasts for approximately 20 seconds.

Cut to Lazarus (Jackson), full-time farmer, occasional blues musician and implied late-comer to the Christian life. Lazarus is in a bad way. His wife is leaving, telling him she has “livin’ to do.” This “livin’” has nothing to do with Lazarus and everything to do with his brother.

Rae’s partying takes an ugly turn and lands her unconscious at Lazarus’ place. Rae has an “itch.” Lazarus has emotional baggage, a Bible and a length of chain with a lock on it. He wants to make what’s wrong with Rae right, and captivity is key to the plan.

This is sick and wrong. And entertaining.

(Note: A co-worker offered a woman’s perspective on “Black Snake Moan”: “If Christina Ricci was leading Samuel L. Jackson around on a chain, everybody would be up in arms.” She’s absolutely right. I still like “Black Snake Moan.”)

Two-thirds of this movie is a blast. The problem isn’t that the film gets serious toward the end — it has to, otherwise “Black Snake Moan” would have a seriously weird message about how female sexuality needs fixin’. Rather, it’s that “Moan” can’t seem to figure out how to wrap things up. The result is a confused muddle, too full of therapeutic chit-chat and self-discovery. It’s what I imagine watching Dr. Phil is like.

Part of the problem is that Ronnie shows up a lot in “Black Snake Moan” later on. Timberlake, though earnest, is miscast.

The rest of the crew hits the mark. Jackson delivers, not surprisingly, and Ricci adds dimension to a role that could have been played just for lust and laughs. Credit, too, John Cothran as the Rev. R.L. His speech about heaven is a high point in “Moan.”

Then there’s the music. Jackson isn’t a half-bad bluesman, and if you don’t already know The Black Keys, Son House, R.L. Burnside, etc., you’ll want to.

“Black Snake Moan,” a Paramount Vantage release, is rated R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use. Running time: 116 minutes.