Someday you might say to yourself, “I’d like to see all of the movies with both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.” And upon investigation, through this sea of relatively good/borderline exceptional collection of David O. Russell directed and Robert DeNiro co-star samples, there is this dog with neither Russell nor DeNiro, Serena. And while Jennifer Lawrence is certainly Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper is certainly Bradley Cooper, Serena is a film you attack to fill a collection and that’s pretty much it.
Not many films are set in a 1929 logging camp in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. I’m not terribly surprised; it must be Hell to create an entire cast worth of custumes that look like they were sewn together from burlap by blind gypsies. This is a time/place when dangerous jobs had dangerous consequences and employed the kind of people who could be easily forgotten. I wouldn’t have thought logging as especially dangerous (as opposed to, say, building a bridge), but Serena reminded us on several occasions that falling trees cause damage and axes are sharp. While the life expectancy of your average arboreal negative space artist is about 45-50, the limb expectancy is one down per two years of service. Early on, boss Pemberton (Cooper) makes an heroic rescue. This is a ruse; Pemberton is an opportunist, although we discover this slowly as the film unravels – but it’s just as probable he saves a man to protect an investment as it is done out of a sense of duty, heroism or good.
Called to Boston to check on his loan, Pemberton meets the single horsebacked maiden Serena (JLaw). Mesmerized, he follows her riding in the country. I swear his second sentence to her is, “let’s get married.” And, check it out, next scene there are two women in a camp of fifty collections of grizzled tree bark identifying themselves as male. And both have been knocked up by Pemberton.
Ooooh, how will Serena adapt to her new digs? And the men? And Pemberton’s mistake? The first answer is easy; Serena is no stranger to logging. I mean,
sure, who doesn’t have a logging background? The rest is the standard struggle of competing for attention, failed diplomacy and making enemies. It’s clear that Pemberton immediately takes counsel of his new bride ahead of men he’s worked with for years. Yeah, that’ll stir a pot.
And when Serena gets pregnant … and there’s no other way to put this – the film devolves. Watch in horror as a “drama” becomes a “thriller” in front of your very eyes. It won’t make sense and each plot point makes the story even worse than the last time you found it. There’s an empty feeling at the end of Serena – I didn’t like the characters, setting, or plot and the resolutions were unsatisfying. Serena is a film in which the leads are asked to reinvent themselves midway through … so while the performances are fine, who cares? Tick this film off your list if you must and move on; both of these actors have far better films in their immediate and relatively brief portfolios.
Bradley and JLaw together once more
Without David O. it’s a drop dead bore
There is no Joy, and there ain’t no Hustle
Can’t find the Silver Lining in this here bustle
This gifted pair is unforgettable
But the collab here is most regrettable
Rated R, 109 Minutes
D: Susanne Bier
W: Christopher Kyle
Genre: Young stars opt for forgettable choice
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: “I’ve seen all your films”
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: The potentially disappointable
