Black Snake Moan
Paramount Vantage | Release Date: March 2, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
13
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
A gorgeous, life-affirming movie. On paper, it sounds lurid bordering on ridiculous. Read full review
91
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
As a filmmaker, Brewer doesn't just yank your chain: He forges a bond with his characters and his audience that produces ecstasy and healing. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Ricci's performance is brave and effective - the most provocative in a career that has rejected Hollywood norms. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The story is as humorous and raunchy as a good blues refrain, and the way Lazarus and Rae react to each other almost resembles the classic call-and-response structure of the blues. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
Perpetually wide-eyed and mega-snarly bedraggled, Christina Ricci prowls through Black Snake Moan looking like something the cat dragged in. If you're anything like me, you'll be very grateful to the cat. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's beautifully shot -- the sweat-drenched jukejoint scenes are particularly evocative -- and features a terrific performance by Ricci, one that deserves to be seen by a wider audience than the one certain to be reeled in by those torrid ads. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Like "Hustle & Flow," Moan succeeds on languid atmosphere and the conviction of its leads. But it'd be nice if the execution matched the startling audacity of its premise. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Brewer, who romanticized the world of pimps and ho's in "Hustle & Flow," is obviously out to push some politically incorrect buttons with this ludicrous - yet, in the end, sweetly involving - Southern Gothic pulp yarn. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Black Snake Moan' is a trip to that unfamiliar territory well worth tagging along on. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I knew blues music can make you feel you're not alone when your woman has gone, and rock your soul when you're on top of the world. But until I saw Black Snake Moan, I didn't know it could also cure nymphomania. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
It's outlandish, hilariously overripe, and possibly sexist: You'd expect no less from Craig Brewer, the writer and director who made the passionate case for how hard it is out there for a pimp. But I loved the picture's tabloid energy and heart. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
A wild and sweet little picture about sex, redemption and music, though perhaps not necessarily in that order. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This movie is crazy, but the insanity is electric. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
It's easy to work up a good head of feminist steam over the misogyny and downright idiocy of a story that suggests that the tyranny of a righteous man can prevent an abused girl from making poor and whorish fashion choices. But it's hard to dismiss completely this atmospheric and persistently intriguing film. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A roiling, boiling mix of blaxploitation, sexploitation, Tennessee Williams and the Tennessee outback. Read full review
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