Serena
The North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s - George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newly-weds, begin to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers George’s hidden past and faces an unchangeable fate of her own, the Pemberton’s passionate marriage begins to unravel leading toward a dramatic reckoning.
Director:
Susanne Bier
Cast:
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Rhys Ifans
Screenplay:
Christopher Kyle
Screening Date:
Mar 21, 2015
Running Time:
109 minutes
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.9% | 13.3% | 35.6% | 35.6% | 6.7% |
“Greek/Shakespearian tragedy. Serena brought discord.
Many topics for discussion: exploration, poor women, and
ecology. Very good film but not for those who abhor blood
and violence.”
“Tedious and predictable.”
“Not the greatest movie I ever saw but certainly not the
worst. In fact the scenery looked gorgeous, Cooper/
Lawrence looked even more gorgeous-er and the story
ambitiously attacked adult issues of love, sex, politics and corruption with a modicum of intelligence and minimal
special effects.”
“Read the novel and skip the movie.”
“Beautifully shot and acted. Very biblical in a way. Is
the fate of a strong woman to always be at odds with men
who feel threatened by them? Jennifer Lawrence is able
to call up crying, escalating rage and tenderness. Bradley
Cooper’s eyes are riveting. The director’s use of his facial shots were excellent. Rhys Infans performance is creepily masterful. Shows what understated acting can accomplish. The screenwriter’s/director’s, producer’s vision seemed very different from the novel. Would now be motivated to read the novel. The movie gives a real sense of the times in the Smokey Mountains, the people circumstances, the conditions, etc. Great character study.”
“I didn’t like this film. I don’t know what motivated
these characters to act the way they did. I didn’t even get
the romance at the beginning. I think this would not be
released unless Hollywood wanted Cooper and Lawrence
to be the next Tracy and Hepburn. She tries to be a cross
between Lauren Bacall and Lady Macbeth, but doesn’t
quite pull it off. Cooper (who should still apologize for
American Sniper) was flat and unconvincing.”
“All the close-ups in the world will not make Jennifer
Lawrence a good actress.”
“Gorgeous photography of the Smokey Mountains but too
slow as a film. Story was ridiculous. Book ending would
have been better. Would have preferred the book.”
I agree it was slowly paced but say it like this – ‘it was
European-paced’ and it becomes a careful character study.”
“A lot of dead folks. Did mountain men really wear
wedding rings in the 1920’s?”
“A great morality play of obsessions gone bad, greed,
power, violence. One wonders how the film would play
without megastars Cooper and Lawrence. With low
expectations and no stars it might be hailed as a cinematic
gem.”
“My biggest problem with this film (and story) was there
was not one central character I cared about. And the last 15
minutes was implausible and pushed plot credibility.”
“Beautiful mountains but I didn’t really get the story.”
“Susanne Bier is a fine director, a careful director who
takes time to set up scenes and lets scenes play longer than most ‘Hollywood’ directors might, and shot for shot she’s as good as anyone. But she doesn’t quite seem to be on the same page (sorry) as the screenwriter who seems to want action and angst in every scene.”
“I guess the depression wasn’t the worst even for the
logging camps in the Carolina’s! For all the love and death
it might have been a better opera! The music was awful.”
“It should have been named SEX AND SERENA.”
“Very pretty to look at, but even with a wake-up drug
I couldn’t keep my eyes open! Jennifer Lawrence
and Bradley Cooper are becoming the IT couple of
Hollywood.”
“After the interview with the author it seems that the book
was better than the film. I thought that the script was weak,
but beautiful cinematography.”
“An excellent film with great scope and ambition. The
subject matter - timber vs. parks conservation, ruthless
ambition vs. public good is timeless and very well
embodied in the characters.”
“Overall the shots were beautiful. The story was too
predictable. Could’ve been more interesting if there was
better character development. Felt like the story lines
didn’t complete.”
"Serena" is an Eve-leads-Adam-astray saga set in a logging community during the Depression. The movie grimly concentrates on killing -- bears, panthers, rattlesnakes -- plus a jealous partner, a witness, an illegitimate heir -- all the while, in the background, the demise of a spectacular North American forest is taking place."
"Serena" is made noteworthy by star-casting: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. In shot after shot, both are movie-star gorgeous and dressed to the nines: Cooper in leather sport coats and boots and macho hunting attire, Lawrence in clingy ivory silks that caress her butt."
"Cooper and Lawrence are too beautiful, perhaps, and that's why I lost focus. During the second half of the movie, as my attention wandered, I wondered if God decided to make these two so perfect -- or if God simply made them and then we, the audience, decided that they are perfection. I
also wondered if that's racist."
"The film has great production values: thoroughbred horses, old-timey trains, fine period automobiles, and that forest. Here and there the drama pauses, so the camera can scope out its wooded valleys in the morning mist."
"Bottom line: Gorgeous stars, gorgeous movie. And that's not enough.”
