Summary
4 tech score
“Serenity” (Aviron)
Steven Knight is the director, writer of the film “Serenity.” It appears he must have seen one Christopher Nolan movie too many as it seems to have influenced him in his creation of this new film. What he needs to understand is that Christopher Nolan is a genius and can get away with movies that are off the beaten track in weird and wonderful ways. Steven Knight obviously does not have this skill and expertise for this movie not only comes off as Christopher Nolan-lite, but Christopher Nolan dud.
It opens with Baker Dill (Matthew McConnaughey) operating a fishing boat for hire on Plymouth Island, which is located off the coast of Miami. Dill is obsessed with landing a huge tuna he has named “Justice.” He has gone out to sea time after time in order to land this giant tuna but has always failed. However hope springs eternal.
One day his old girl friend Karen (Anne Hathaway) shows up to renew old acquaintances and also to ask him to murder her husband (Jason Clarke). She is the mother pf Dill’s son and her current husband Frank is physically and emotionally abusive to both her and the boy. She also says she will pay Dill ten million dollars for getting the job done.
Once all this is established then it all falls apart. It enters some unknown territory which is neither understandable nor enjoyable. Having it twist the way it does comes off as a cheap trick on the part of the filmmaker and not one that is not going to win him many fans. Audiences are left muttering “What the heck?” under their breaths, and considering asking for their money back.
As far as the acting goes McConnaughey tries his best to make a valid character out of an invalid premise. He struggles but should be given credit for making a true effort. Hathaway is totally miscast in her role of femme fatale. She appears to be the mysterious link to everything but instead everything about her just muddles the plot. Diane Lane has only a couple of scenes and doesn’t figure into the plot in any way. Clarke overplays his role to the extreme while Djimon Hounsou adds a bit of reality as the only rational person in the story.
The film is rated R for profanity, violence and nudity.
There are probably people analyzing every second of this movie even as I write this. They will find deep symbolism in this and that scene of the film, and perhaps some time in the future it will be recognized for more than it is. But for me it is and always will be a waste of time and talent for a story that was doomed from the start. Christopher Nolan, please keep making movies. Steven Knight, maybe do something else.
I scored “Serenity” an alarming 4 out of 10.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
