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 Serenity (2019) 

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A 33%  33%  [ 2 ]
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Total votes : 6

 Serenity (2019) 
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Post Serenity (2019)
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Serenity is a 2019 American neo-noir thriller film directed, co-produced and written by Steven Knight. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, and Jeremy Strong, and follows a fishing boat captain who is approached by his ex-wife to murder her new husband.


Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:26 pm
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
Do yourself a favor and don't read anything about it before you see Serenity - - including this:

Spoiler: show
Noir mindfuck done right by Steven Knight, director of Locke. Purposefully overwrought melodrama serves its finely crafted twilight zone story. Matthew McConaughey was born for this role, while Anne Hathaway and Jason Clarke provide tightly strung support. Serenity is anything but. *A*


Sat Jan 26, 2019 2:47 am
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
This is definitely a wild ride. I was not aware of the twist beforehand, so it blindsided me...for better or worse. I suspect the film may become Internet (in)famous, at least briefly, for its twist.

Spoiler: show
In certain ways, the content of the film's second half is not so unfamiliar, as unexpected as the reveal is: the non-player characters insistently trying to redirect him and preserve the story recalls the supporting characters in The Truman Show attempting to stay in character, and there are significant shades of Open Your Eyes/Vanilla Sky, too.

I enjoy the twist in Serenity insofar as it justifies the odd qualities of the first and second acts: the way, for instance, the central island town, Plymouth, feels as if it is simultaneously in New England and the Caribbean. It registers as a place conceived by a person solely drawing on pop-cultural conceptions of fishing villages. Because, we learn, it is precisely this. All in all, the world building is cleverly deployed, almost convincing us we are in the real world, or at least a regular cinematic depiction of the real world, while also subtly (and then not so subtly) evoking the uncanny valley.

I find the twist problematic as it relates to the non-character of the son, Patrick. He is, in a sense, the true protagonist, but we never know him in any meaningful way. The few scenes of him in his bedroom listening to overly expository domestic-abuse shouting feel less real than the principal story in his artificial world. Many elements of the video-game environment he codes for this avatar of his dead father become deeply strange when considered through the lens of a grieving and traumatized son: why, for example, does "dad" quasi-reluctantly sleep with a local woman (a wasted Diane Lane) for money? This suitably illicit subplot is fine when the film is pretending to be a mostly straightforward, modestly steamy neo-noir, but bizarre and uncomfortable when it transitions to a type of science fiction.

In general, I would say the film is a potent entertainment, at times earnestly and at other points as unintentional camp. It is not a career highlight for the occasionally brilliant and almost always capable Steven Knight, but it is photogenic and compellingly madcap. It certainly never feels phoned in or obligatory; Knight is chasing a deranged muse here, and he follows her entirely down the proverbial rabbit hole. And Matthew McConaughey seems to relish his peculiar role, particularly the Ahabesque beats involving his character's obsession with an elusive tuna he calls Justice (because of course).

P. S. Have a shot every time Anne Hathaway says "daddy." Patrick has a strange relationship with his mother...

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1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Sat Jan 26, 2019 3:24 am
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
I guessed what was going on about a third into it but thought to myself... nah, and it ended up being the case lolol

Definitely a bizzare film in tone and execution. Bad? Eh I don't know. I could see a scenario where this story maybe could've worked better but here it kinda just comes across as really peculiar.


Sat Jan 26, 2019 3:36 am
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
Reflecting on this movie a bit more, I feel more confident saying I dig it in all its uneven, wait-what? glory. It is a total oddity, but a worthwhile one.

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1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:02 pm
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
Wow, this is really good. Hit a nerve deep down in me. I went into it expecting an hilariously crazy twist but it's not at all. It makes sense, and the film is powerful. The performances are solid, and Steven Knight manages to draw you into this world. After Hummingbird, Locke, and now Serenity, I'll remember the name in future.

As for the critical opinion...fuck them all. Of course, it doesn't hit its politically correct quota being that it's about white people, a father and his son, and a dead soldier ... so of course the liberal critic stronghold didn't like it. They even ignored the domestic abuse (perennially not an issue to people that have never experienced it). I must remember that a "privileged" white boy cannot have problems in his life. But I digress.

Anyway, I loved this film.


Sun Feb 24, 2019 3:44 am
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
After release date changes, a final out of season release and poor reviews Serenity surprises by being very good. As it does in the way it realizes the main story to be a game, which leaves plenty to wrap the brain around the intrinsicality of it. While the scenes of the boy in the room lack character, it's fully present at Baker Dil's Plymouth Island where McConaughey and Hathaway both excel in their roles. It's always great to see Diane Lane on screen too and Clarke is made to play this kind of sleazy role. The film is a thrill onto it's denouement when game and real life merge. There's a constant eeriness, elevated expressions and impressions of the characters and shots shown on screen. Just I wasn't really a fan of the rules guy, or maybe it was because I was more confused than understanding of his presence. It's also not quite as gripping a Knight's previous film Locke, but he manages to what's already a good thriller here give another, worth re-watching, edge with a well scripted revelation.

B+


Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:38 am
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
Wow talk about a surprise, but I also really enjoyed this. I know, Algren, stuffp and I have liked a lot of similar stuff before, but based on everything I had been hearing about this film I honestly wasn't expecting to like it that much at all, but I'm glad that I did give it a chance. So much about this movie reminded me of something I would have watched on late night cable back in the late 90's or early 2000's, especially the music that was being used. Frequency and The Butterfly Effect came into my mind a lot while I watching this and that's not a bad thing, because I actually love both of those films. Right from start I was immediately sucked into this world, and while I did know the twist in advance I believe it kind of helped me enjoy the movie more than I would have if I had not known. Matthew McConaughey carries the hell out of this movie along with some really solid performances from Anne Hathaway and Jason Clarke. Speaking of Jason Clarke this is easily one of his best performances IMO, especially in comparison to some of the shit I have seen with him lately where he's basically just sleepwalking through the whole thing.

I just loved how much of unapologetic, sleazy, piece of shit his character was and it also made it all the more satisfying when he finally gets what he deserves. I can understand why most wouldn't enjoy it though because of how ambitious and crazy the plot is, but I thought Steven Knight did a pretty damn good job pulling it off. This makes me want to go back and actually finish watching Locke which I remember not really enjoying when it first came out, but after this and Redemption which I did enjoy its become clear to me that this man definitely has talent.

B+


Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:06 pm
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Defeats all expectations
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Post Re: Serenity (2019)
The build-up was good... until it pulled a Jumanji and made one lose all affinity for the characters and grasp of what was going on. It did not build in a default setting for the consciousness and autonomy of the characters in the virtual world. It did not inform whether they had knowledge of their past and if and how they adapted to new revelations. The writing is a little lazy.

64/100


Sat Jul 06, 2019 9:11 pm
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