Thursday, March 5, 2015

Review of SERENA: Logjammed Love

March 5, 2015



Of all the new releases this week, this film caught my attention because of the powerhouse casting of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in the lead roles. This is already the third film with Lawrence and Cooper together after "Silver Lining Playbook" and "American Hustle", both of whom gained Oscar recognition. I had no idea what this film is going to be about, but I had very high expectations about its story and quality because of the stars. Unfortunately, I was wrong on both points.

Set in the forests of North Carolina during the Depression. "Serena" tells the story of George Pemberton and his burgeoning lumber business. One day, he met and married firebrand Serena in a whirlwind. Serena is not your typical wife who was happy just minding the house and cooking for her husband. She started off confident and savvy, getting involved with how the business was run and getting her hands dirty in the field with the lumberjacks. But after a tragic personal misfortune, Serena would teeter at the edge of madness.

I thought Bradley Cooper should have been well-cast as George Pemberton. He had the right look and temperament for the role. Strangely though, it somehow felt like he was embarrassed and lazy to do certain scenes such that the passion for acting we know him for was missing. This was especially true for the third and final act where he seemed like he was just going through the motions. His performance was lukewarm at best,and that was unfortunate since we know he can do much better.

Jennifer Lawrence was miscast as Serena. She looked ill-at-ease the whole time. She was overacting most of the time and it was not comfortable to watch. Her childbirth scene alone was shrill and unbearable. When I saw the mountain and forest setting, I thought of the film which launched Lawrence to popularity, "Winter Bone". Unfortunately in "Serena", Lawrence had none of the subtle nuance she showed in that film which earned her an Oscar nomination at a very young age. Everything she did in "Serena" was so loud, practically shouting at the audience.

The overstuffed script by Christopher Kyle tried to incorporate so many sub-themes into the main story, making the film feel so much longer than its 109 minute running time. It was so heavy, you can feel the extra weight all around. While some scenes were going on for too long, others felt too abbreviated and rushed. The whole film wallowed in melodrama so thick it was a chore to wade through.


This was disappointing because director Ms. Susanne Bier had the distinction of being the only female Danish director who had two films nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "A Better World" (2010) and "After the Wedding" (2006). With "Serena" though, she was unfortunately unable to tame the unwieldy script efficiently. She failed to whittle down the excesses to create a more streamlined and coherent film. The story was certainly there, but it was storytelling that did not deliver. 4/10.




20 comments:

  1. i like bradley cooper and jen lawrence, but together in a film? idk... this is an interesting romantic drama film

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  2. Oh no... you would have totally expected this film to be awesome, simply by the casting alone! I do like their films - Sliver Lining Playbook was fantastic. Maybe it's just not their genre - will be giving this one a wide berth. As always a fantastic, thorough review! Sim

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  3. I love watching movies!It is my Friday happy moment habbit!Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I haven't had the opportunity to see this movie yet but I really want to! Wonderful actors there! Thanks for the great review as always Fred!

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  5. I've seen this one - I love the cast, but the film just didn't click ( might just be me ). Sadly, I expected a lot from it.

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  6. I was on the fence about this movie. Even in the trailer, the casting seemed a bit off to the plot, which is probably why the acting didn't come out right.

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  7. Looks like this would definitely be a good one. Thanks for the review.

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  8. Haha, I was going to watch this no matter what, because I thought it was a more feminine or literature film than the usual action film. Jennifer Lawrence FTW!

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  9. It's always a struggle when it comes to period movies. Even with a great cast, the story telling didn't give justice to the story.

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  10. I don't seem to enjoy Jennifer Lawrence having such kind of movies. I don't know I guess its her natural personality where she fits more in comedy? but that's just me lol

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  11. Oh boy, that must be why the movie isn't getting much play. It does show when actors are just going through the motions.

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  12. Jennifer Lawrence is a favorite actress of mine, and her tandem with Bradley Cooper. This movie seems romantic and touching so I would like to watch it.

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  13. "The whole film wallowed in melodrama so thick it was a chore to wade through." - it must have been really heavy then. Seeing the cast, I would have the same expectations as you, so I think i would have judged it the same way.

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  14. At first, when I read that it was Lawrence and Cooper, it's another great movie, but based on what you wrote about how they acted in the film, i'm having second thoughts on watching this one.

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  15. This looks super interesting. With my vacation coming up, I'm definitely going to pick this up soon! :D

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  16. I have watched "American Hustle" and find both lead actors do justice to their respective roles. Seems a good flick to watch though, you have stated some negative feedback specially that of Miss Lawrence being miscast.

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  17. First time heard of this movie.. Sounds like it's a great one...

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  18. I am always interested when people go outside the franchise that made them famous

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  19. I loved both silverlining playbook and American hustle. Surely Serena would be awesome too...The storyline sounds interesting.

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  20. hey I like Jennifer she is so gorgeous. This sounds like a good movie Fred!

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