UnSung Cinema: A Look Back At Indie Film Serena
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper team up once again in the post-depression film adaption of the Ron Rash novel, Serena. Director Susan Bier, directs a story of love, lies, and death in the most melodramatic, dull way possible. Having seen the film, it is now obvious why no one is happy with the end result—not even Bier. This film has had plenty time before release to get things right, only to deliver 120 minutes of enough faux symbolism to give you a migraine headache.
George Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) is a wealthy bachelor who owns a thriving timber business in North Carolina during the 1930's. After meeting Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) at an equestrian event, they get married immediately, and Serena is moved to North Carolina as Mrs. Pemberton. George decides to bring Serena on as a business partner against the advice of George's current partner, Buchcanan (David Dencik). Things appear to be going well until George's timber business begins to collapse. A bewildered George is stuck between a rock and hard place, until Serena whispers the seeds of madness into George's ear. Things take a turn for the worst once Serena discovers she cannot have children. Upon learning this news, Serena embarks on a collision course of destruction by bringing hell to anyone who stands in her way. That includes her husband George Pemberton.
Jennifer Lawrence really is the best thing about Serena. I would dare go so far as to say this is her best performance since Winter's Bone. Initially, she seemed to be out of place in this film. The character 'Serena' has a very mature look and attitude, so there was some worry that Lawrence wouldn't be able to pull this off, but the role of Serena is a great change of pace for Lawrence. She is not the hero here, but a deliciously scary villain whom is cold, calculating, and confident. She plays her role less damsel crazed by distress, and more as if she were Lady Macbeth.
Bradley Cooper as a leading man has never been interesting to me but in Serena he does well with what he is given. He does a good job expressing the emotions of his character, and feeds off the energy of his co-star. I can see why Lawrence chose to work with him again.
While the acting is survicable, director Susan Bier made a huge mistake by not finishing up the film's loose ends with this film. Bier took more than 18 months to complete this film. She took some time off from post production of Serena, to promote another film of hers, Love Is All You Need. As a result of her time away from production, the end result is a sloppy, choppy, cinematic meltdown. Bier annoys the audience with symbolism instead of dialog which takes away from the story. In addition, there are a bit too many gratuitous sex scenes that did not add anything to the story. Despite the overwhelming flaws present in the film, the one thing the film has going for it cinematically is that is the cinematography. Costumes are great looking and the film set looks and feels reminiscent of the depression era.
A story that seemingly had so much potential is ruined due to bad production choices, and surrealism. A lot more could have been explored through dialog such as the madness of miscarriage, or divorce, or insanity. Unfortunately, Jennifer Lawrence is the only saving grace. However, if you are not a fan of Lawrence, or Cooper, you are not left with many redeeming qualities.
