Serena (2014)

It’s been quite some time since we last discussed this project by Susanna Bier, which originated as one of her acclaimed American films. I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about in a Better World 2011., and I find myself returning to it more often than I probably should. It’s one of those films that stays with you, isn't it? There’s a certain weight to the storytelling that feels incredibly heavy yet somehow necessary to sit with. I guess I find myself wondering if we ever truly process the themes presented, or if we just let them settle in the back of our minds like a quiet, persistent ache. It’s a deeply moving piece, and I suspect it might take a lifetime to fully grasp everything it was trying to say about us. It looks like this film managed to pick up both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best International Feature. I believe it’s scheduled to make its big debut at the Sundance Film Festival this coming November. The cast features some really heavy hitters, specifically Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

Set against the backdrop of Depression-era North Carolina, the trajectory of George Pemberton's massive timber empire begins to unravel once it's revealed that his wife, Serena, is unable to have children.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if this particular role manages to land her an Oscar nomination.

silvergardener6 said:We'll just have to wait and see if this role lands her another Oscar nomination.

Probably. Though, if I'm being honest, the whole movie feels like absolute garbage to me.

And here we go again—looks like Cooper is eyeing another Oscar alongside Bradley Cooper...

While I’m not entirely sold on their chemistry together, I’ll still give it a watch. The trailer looks solid enough.

It seems unlikely she'll take it home unless she truly manages to blow everyone away, because from what I can gather, the Oscar for Best Actress is currently looking like a lock for Reese Witherspoon in Wild.

Even though the movie is slated for a few festival runs, its wide release isn't scheduled until next February or March, which I suppose means it’s effectively out of the running for this year's Oscar.

This movie was actually filmed two years ago. There’s been so much speculation about why nobody’s talking about it... people say it’s just bad. I know there are plenty of articles online about it, but I really don't feel like scrolling through them on my tablet right now.
I guess that's how it looks to me.
Given what happens in the book, I was expecting something a bit darker.
Something more like Wild, maybe with more grays instead of all those warm colors. A darker soundtrack and plot too, I think.

I’ve heard two different things regarding the situation—firstly, that they ran into some serious friction with their distributors, and secondly, there was an issue involving Jennifer Lawrence. Apparently, during the editing process, they realized they needed to reshoot a specific scene in the Czech Republic because of some distracting airplane noise, but since she was already filming The Hunger Games, the cost to bring her back was actually higher than the movie's entire budget.

They’ve become such a tedious duo lately. Especially him—I just can't stand him. Is it his face? He seems irritating in every single movie he's in.

Saw on the AMC website that they put up a sneak preview for 🎉

I read somewhere that this was tossed in the trash ages ago, but they've decided to resuscitate it just to squeeze a few more bucks out of the Lawrence-Cooper combo.

The reviews are just awful.
It’s sitting at a measly 30% on Rotten Tomatoes and maybe a 5.5 on IMDb.
A few of those IMDb reviews...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247690/...?ref_=tt_ov_rt

And here I was, getting all excited about it.😢

The movie hit the torrent sites a few weeks ago—so if you actually want to see it, save your money on a theater ticket because it really isn't worth it. It’s not that it's catastrophically bad, just... mediocre. I get the feeling they were aiming for some sort of epic period drama, but the execution just fell flat. What stings the most is that the story actually has potential; if this had been handled properly, it could have been a masterpiece. The director touches on corruption, Depression-era unemployment, environmental destruction, human greed, and so on—but it all feels incidental and incredibly superficial. The focus stays on the romance, yet it comes across as shallow and unconvincing, the acting from certain characters is wooden, motivations are murky... The protagonists are supposedly madly in love, but the audience only knows that because the two of them won't stop repeating it. The cinematography and the outdoor shots are beautiful, as is the costume design. Jennifer Lawrence is one of the few bright spots in the whole thing.

All in all, it's a pretty forgettable flick to kill a rainy afternoon.

@goldendrifter19/">@@goldendrifter19 - I didn't really see those lines as a director's way of showing how much they loved each other. To me, it felt more like Serena trying to constantly pull validation out of him.
She seems emotionally unstable and insecure, like she’s totally dependent on him. She’s always hunting for signs of affection, needing him to tell her over and over that he loves her and that she's his everything. From what I could tell, he never actually says that famous "I love you" first.
I think they portrayed that pretty well, especially since she eventually snaps later on.

I caught it in the theater yesterday and I guess I can back up everything Violet said.
The movie isn't bad at all, actually.
But it's nothing special, I suppose.
It shifts from being a social drama into more of a romance.
Once you finish watching, you kind of wonder what the actual point was, because it touches on so many things... but it feels a bit rushed.
The cinematography is beautiful, though.
Jennifer Lawrence was great. Lately, I haven't been feeling her performances, but she was excellent here. That scene where she remembers her family burning down was particularly powerful.
Bradley Cooper was good too.
The transitions between scenes felt a little clunky, though.
And "the other woman" really got on my nerves.

Serena is such a walking dichotomy—by the end of the film, it’s impossible to ignore; she’s a powerhouse in business, yet totally fragile and insecure in her private life. I agree that she’s constantly fishing for validation from her husband, but that doesn't mean they aren't actually in love... if that makes sense. If anything, I think the writers intended for it to feel that way since their relationship turns so destructive, crossing lines that are almost unforgivable. My main gripe, though, is how their dynamic is handled—it just lacks conviction, that spark, that chemistry... there’s far too much dialogue and not nearly enough actual showing.

I’d draw a direct parallel between that relationship and the one Serena has with Galloway; both are poorly fleshed out, leaving the viewer to just accept the premise that she's a femme fatale who makes men lose their minds. Both men end up clearing any obstacle in Serena's path just to stay close to her. Especially Galloway—his motivations are completely murky. The whole movie is riddled with these kinds of gaps...

goldendrifter19 said:I think the way they handled their relationship was off. It just didn't feel believable, like there was no chemistry or whatever. There’s too much talking and not enough actual showing.

I guess you could compare that connection to the one Serena has with Galloway; both feel pretty thin. It's like the audience just has to accept that she's this femme fatale who makes men lose their minds. So, both guys basically clear the path for Serena's happiness, no matter what. Especially since Galloway's motivation is kind of fuzzy. The movie has a lot of gaps like that.

I don't know, maybe not for me. I suppose at first, when he started seeing her, he wasn't really into it because she had an agenda. But once he got to know her, he probably got hooked on how smart and independent she was. They were always together, having sex, stuff like that.
He liked having someone who was basically his equal. But in that relationship, she more loved him. That's why she was always looking for validation, I guess.

And about Galloway—how?
His mom was also clairvoyant like him, and she saw a prophecy where he’d lose his hand but be saved by a woman.
So, he feels like he owes her, like he's obligated to serve her and make sure she's happy for the rest of his life.

I don't really agree that it's full of holes. I'm not sure what else isn't making sense?

Anyway, I think the ending in the book is much better. (Not really a spoiler since the movie does something totally different)
In the end, Serena tricks her husband and leaves George to die in the woods. Years later, Serena is interviewed for Life magazine because of her great success in the timber industry. She says she regrets nothing.
Shortly after, she is murdered by Jacob Harmon.

It’s not that I don't get what the poet was trying to convey through those ambiguities—I definitely grasp the intent. It’s just that so many elements of this movie fail to land for me. Primarily, it feels like the director tried to bite off way more than she could chew—especially early on when tackling all those social issues—but it falls flat because the approach is just too superficial. If she had taken a smaller bite... focused on just one specific theme... it would have been much stronger.

As for that prophecy bit, I completely forgot about it, which honestly says everything about how forgettable the film was—even though I watched it only a few weeks ago.

So, I watched the trailer and thought, "Okay, this looks pretty solid," but honestly? Once the actual movie started, I was fighting for my life just to stay awake—it was such a slog.
The pacing is just incredibly flat. 🥱

Heavy drama featuring this one handsome actor that women—and honestly, some guys too—just love watching, alongside the current teen queen of Hollywood, though she’s definitely not as good-looking as he is! All in all, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be, but you could probably catch a solid half-hour nap while watching since his pacing is pretty slow. He isn't winning any Oscars, though maybe a small one if she's involved because she actually knows how to act. ☕