Rae is absolutely heartbreaking to watch — she's so damaged after a lifetime of abuse, of using her body to relate to men because it's the only thing she knows, she seems utterly beyond repair. The one man who loved her for her — who was her salvation, as she was his — is Timberlake's Ronnie, who's just left for boot camp.

When Lazarus finds Rae, she's still in a stupor from having numbed herself at a party the previous night with booze and drugs. She's been beaten up, raped and kicked from the front seat of a pickup truck wearing nothing but a cut-off T-shirt (emblazoned with a rebel flag, naturally) and a pair of white cotton panties. It's a brave performance from Ricci, who's never been afraid of challenging material.

Lazarus picks her up and begins nursing her back to health but soon realizes she's in far worse shape than he'd imagined. She has these spells — this is where "Black Snake Moan" might lose you — in which she seethes and writhes from the inside out, and the only way she knows how to cure them is to act out in a brazenly sexual fashion.

Hence the chain — which is long and metal, and had been languishing in a box in Lazarus' barn until he wraps it around Rae's skinny waist. He figures that as long as he's got her secured, she can't cause herself (or anyone else) any harm. Lazarus also pulls out the old electric guitar he'd stopped playing and feels comfortable enough to sing her the blues. That helps. (One of the songs also provides inspiration for the movie's title.)

It's a crazy concept. It felt crazy writing it down just now. But as their relationship develops, they learn to trust and open up to each other, and there's hope that they might become the people they'd lost sight of being.

Sounds hokey, but it feels startlingly alive and new.

"Black Snake Moan" is rated R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use. Running time: 118 minutes.