Serena

I saw the film today and while the performances were good and the look of the film from the sets to the costuming were impressive the flow of the film wasn't perfect and that felt like it was mainly down to the editing. The tone shift half way through did feel jarring, it made the film feel oddly paced as the characters motivations were so emotional and fluid that I felt the viewer had to keep working out the reasons for such intense decisions and it not working at least sometimes for me. Fans of the novel will notice big changes and I imagine the film works better for people who are unfamiliar with Ron Rash's novel as I was disappointed how different it was. It's not a masterpiece but it's not a disaster, if any thing it feels too ambitious and doesn't quite reach the heights needed.

I think It's a great movie with a deeper meaning than just the first line story which is beautifully told with sensitivity and great performances. But besides the moral implications of their actions which are well portrayed (we understand Serena's personality through her tragic past life experiences; and her husband's blindness having found the love that matches his lifestyle and personal ambitions), the story is also about nature Versus civilization. George Pemberton's obsession with hunting down the adult panther symbolizes his quest for bringing development into a virgin forest inevitably by destroying trees and erasing nature. Nature is nowadays seriously in danger of survival and humankind cannot do so without respecting nature : the end scene between the panther and George both death-wounded is intended to mean exactly this.

Having read, and enjoyed, Ron Rash's novel I am not sure what I saw on the screen. I don't know who is to blame -- the director, the editor or the screen writer. They did not stick to the book so if you liked the book, this film is not it. I blame the screen writer; what made him think he could write a better story and Susanna Bier for taking on this project and then dropping it for 18 months? They added people not in the book or changed roles of those in the book and changed other details attributed to different characters, using up time that could have been better spent on real character development. Spent too much time on the back story when it could have been explained, as in the book, when Pemberton brings Serena home he tells of how they met and married. There did not need to be a scene. The important theme -- jealousy -- was not developed. Jennifer Lawrence changes from one scene to the next, with no development of her descent into madness. The dramatic escape by Rachel and baby was hardly there and in the book it was gripping how she struggled to stay one step ahead of Galloway. Surprisingly, there was little to no attempt at a southern accent except by Tobe Jones and by Rhys Ifans, no one else even tried -- Lawrence being excused. Sean Harris, who is known to be real intense on a film set, acted like he could have phoned in his lines, making no attempt at channeling one particular accent and mumbling (probably too embarrassed to say the lines). He looked like he did not want to be there any longer than he had to be there. Cooper was not comfortable in the role and also looked like he would rather be any place else. When first cast, some predicted this would happen because neither Cooper nor Lawrence had any experience with a period piece. I gave it a 2 because the actors showed up. It truly was awful, and I think they knew it. Why would they have not given Lawrence the screen time to slowly slip over the edge? The film's denouement is not what Ron Rash wrote at all. Read the book -- it is so much better. This film cost $25-30 million to make (a decent sum) for a film with no set, barely. Obviously, no one who worked on the film read the book -- the screen writer certainly did not.

One of the most angry experiences I've ever had in a cinema. For a movie that is literally about nothing, that makes no point and had no dramatic core I was surprised that I could take at least a couple of things from it. It does have a number of intense scenes that unfortunately stop making their way into the movie after half of the movie's duration. There is a very good reason for why these scenes have an impact and why the whole movie actually din't feel excruciating. That would be the cinematography. It is totally, absolutely gorgeous. The lighting is impeccable, the composition perfectly balanced and color is used to paint beautiful images. Thanks to this high-standard photography and the talent of its leads, "Serena" has the merit of bringing about 11-12 minutes to the screen of good material. The remaining 95 minutes unfortunately are rubbish. When I'm saying that the movie has nothing to say I am 100% honest. It does not make any f**king statement. Moreover, there isn't a story, there simply isn't. I couldn't make heads or tails of what were they going for. It is so bluntly and arrogantly thinking its dealing with deep thematics and profound drama that it made me even angrier, I actually kicked the seat in front of me time and time again in desperation. The scirpt and the editing of the film are garbage. The first is melodramatic to the point of comedic, problem is it doesn't reach quite that level of exaggeration so instead of being so bad its good it ended up being plain out bad. The second is all over the place. Scenes are stringed together randomly and they don't take us to any place 90% of time. You'll be asking yourself "Why am I f***king watching this?!" infinite times. About one third of the movie is Cooper and Lawrence making out, having sex, looking emptily at one another or telling each other " I love you". I really had an overdose of the worst sentimentalism on the planet. The emotional and dramatic core of the movie are forgotten. Sometimes I thought that the director must have been joking with me in asking me to take seriously and emotionally this characters after the montage at the start. The score is as bad as everything above, it is manically manipulative and added a whole other significance to the word "cringe". Characters are in the movie for no particular reason and they are so badly defined that they made Cooper, Lawrence and Jones look bad actors. There's some talent there man! You're making single handedly look bad three of the best actors in the business. Hats off for that! I hate this movie. The more I think about it angrier I get. Thank God, there were some very good scenes in there because with those missing and with no amazing cinematography I would have probably walked out of the theater for the first time in my life.

"I've think you've taken nine months to do about six months work." It's funny that Jennifer Lawrence was given this line in a film that took over 18 months to make during post-production because for what it is, this could have been edited much better in two or three months. The narrative feels choppy and instead of focusing on the characters in this period piece they move the narrative from one act to the next without ever giving the audience anything to chew on. This is simply a flat period romance with very little chemistry that misfires on all cylinders (editing, casting, and screenplay). You can't help but feel that there is another film in here somewhere that got lost in the editing room. Serena seemed to be a film aiming for Oscar gold because it had everything going for beginning from the romantic pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper after their incredible success in Silver Linings Playbook. Add the solid Danish director, Susanne Bier (In a Better World), and a script based on Ron Rash's 2008 novel to the mix and Serena seemed to be a sure bet. I had high expectations for it and many were already including it as a contender for next year's Academy Award even before it finished being produced. How could a film like this end up being so forgettable and predictable at the same time? I'd guess the blame relies on the producers who tried to cash in on Lawrence and Cooper's success by centering the film on the romance instead of focusing on the other interesting cast members. The romance never works here because the characters are never fully developed so there is no way we can invest in their relationship. The amazing chemistry these two actors had in their previous film is completely wasted here. Everything about this film seemed disconnected and I am sure it won't live up to the aspirations the producers and critics had for Serena. I have genuinely enjoyed all of Jennifer Lawrence's performances up to this film. The setting in the woods reminded me of the first time I saw J-Law in Winter's Bone, a film so richly invested in character development that I was expecting her to deliver another outstanding performance. That comparison to Winter's Bone only ended up disappointing me. She is extremely over the top in this film and the emotional scenes she gets are never believable. The scenes where she breaks down and cries were painful to watch. Bradley Cooper loses his charm as well, but I guess the blame relies on the script. If you are trying to deliver a strong romantic period piece you have the right actors to do so, but the script doesn't help build the romance. Bradley Cooper's character catches up to J-Law on a horse and asks her to marry him and then they are married. The entire film felt sort of chopped up and fast forwarded to the key parts of the story without taking time to give the characters any depth. About 15 minutes into the movie I knew where everything was heading and it was a huge disappointment for me because I expected a lot more from this film. The secondary cast is interesting, but unfortunately very little time is given to these characters. Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, and David Dencik are extremely talented actors and I wish the script would've given them more time. Unfortunately Christopher Kyle's script misses the mark at every turn. The only positive thing about Serena was Morten Søborg's beautiful cinematography.

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