SERENA: TOO LOW KEY

Each week new movies come out, a number of which are highlighted as the best to choose from either online or as advertised in the front window or Redbox. You never know what to expect when you look at the picture and more often than not you recognize a face or two and let that be the deciding factor. That would be my guess why many will rent SERENA this week. It offers a lesson as to why you should look deeper.

The movie stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, two actors who have starred in two other movies together, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and AMERICAN HUSTLE. They’re both at the top of their game at present coming off these as well as other hugely successful films. I’m guessing their reason for starring here was that it was the original material that sparked their interests. The end result leaves much to be desired.

The story takes place in 1929 in North Carolina where George Pemberton (Cooper) owns and runs a logging operation. At present he’s in the midst of a battle to retain his company as there is a push to turn the land he owns into a national park. Pitted against a sheriff (Tobey Jones) who has no liking for him and a representative for the park service determined to take the land, he has his hands full.

On a trip away George meets Serena (Lawrence), a women with a damaged past who catches his eye and his heart. They marry and he returns with his new bride in tow to continue his battle for his land. She takes to the business easily and wins the respect of the workers there when she helps find solutions to things like the snake problem they find on the mountains. Adapting to this life is easy for her but the battles that are being waged will take their toll on both her and George.

Ghosts of the past come to haunt the couple. In her case it is the terrible tragedy, a fire that killed her family that left her scarred and filled with guilt. In George’s case it comes in the form of a baby boy given birth by a woman who he slept with when the need suited him prior to his meeting Serena. To ensure he remains with her Serena gets pregnant but that leads to other complications. George has secrets of his own as well when he kills a man trying to help the sheriff bring him down.

All of these threads come together with a resolution to each problem that some will see coming and other may not. The trip to get to that solution is well made and looks great with some fantastic shots of the landscape that is called into question from the very beginning of the film. And yet for me the journey lacked something.

There are no bad performances to be seen here in this film. Even those in lesser roles handle them with skill and ease making them all believable. The story seems to be well thought out, taken from a novel by the same name. The photography, as I mentioned, is breathtaking at times. And yet all of these strands to not come together to make a satisfying end product.

I had a hard time putting my finger on just what was missing. I did notice that the actors, though doing a great job, never seemed to have any passion. Maybe it wasn’t the actors but the characters they were playing. Their voice levels all felt so low key and subtle as to go overboard with that emotion or lack thereof. I can recall only one incident where a voice was raised in the entire movie no matter what was going on.

Thinking back I also realized that the music was that same low key tone as well. No rising tones to elevate a scene. Just to make sure I wasn’t just imagining things I went back to a scene where a worker has his hand cut off with an axe before being rushed to help. I was right. The music takes a sudden swell for a brief moment then goes back to softer tones with no sense of urgency as he is rushed to help. The importance of music is highlighted in this film and here it does little to help.

In the end the movie isn’t the worst thing ever made but I have a hard time recommending it to anyone. Fans of Cooper and Lawrence will no doubt want to add it to their collections. But with all the ability to carry a movie on display in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, a movie I loved, none of it can be found here nor would it have helped raise this one higher. Watch it if you choose but don’t expect the spark offered in that film.

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