A 2007 release, Black Snake Moan is a film that recreates the atmosphere of the Mississippi Blues Movement starting from an older novel and former song. The film reception was not at all fabulous among critics as some reproached it to have a messy plot, while others expressed criticism over the sexualized violence that dominates the film. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci and Justin Timberlake, Black Snake Moan becomes a revelation of bitterness, drug abuse, sexual addiction and the exposure of lots of African American issues. The plot of the film is loosely retraced from a novel by George Elliot written in 1861, Silas Marner, while the soundtrack is some form of remake of the Blind Lemon Jefferson song created in the late 20s.
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The cast of Black Snake Moan devoted such a great attention to this project that important parts of their lives had to get adapted to the requests of the script: thus, Samuel L. Jackson had to study around six hours a day, for half a year to only learn to play blues guitar. Then, Christina Ricci also set an example of role commitment by eating only food with low nutritional value and walking about almost naked just to understand her character in a more profound way. A hot debate issued due to the misogynistic promotion of the film, which was considered pretty offensive to women.
Consequently, when it comes to the reception of Black Snake Moan, the film was not by far the hit everyone expected. Yet, good critical appreciations were also formulated, but less intense than the aggression of the negative criticism. The reproach often directed towards the market film promotion was that it emphasized promiscuity and it targeted college boys audience instead of addressing wider public categories. Hence, Christina Ricci was one of the film cast members who took a stand against this form of advertising, claiming it unpardonable and without precedent in her film career.
A better outcome resulted from the release of the Black Snake Moan soundtrack collection at the beginning of 2007. The tracks feature Samuel Jackson together with other important blues names. The album includes a total of seventeen tracks covering both classic and modern blues; the compilation sold pretty well, as Blues fans were actually eager to get a new approach to their favorite music style. Critics also had a very positive attitude much better than the other critical appreciations passed on the film, Black Snake Moan.
