Serena
Release date: 2014-10-12
Votes: 1048
Genres: Drama
North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s – George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newly-weds, begin to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers George’s hidden past and faces an unchangeable fate of her own, the Pemberton’s passionate marriage begins to unravel leading toward a dramatic reckoning.
Reviews
Wuchak
**_Tragic tale of a timber baron and his new wife in North Carolina, 1929-1930_** As The Depression sets-in, Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) brings his wife to his logging ranch in the Smokey Mountains (Jennifer Lawrence) and she has no problem proving her mettle with the guys. She settles in, but treachery soon manifests. Shot in the spring of 2012, "Serena” wasn’t released until 2.5 years later in 2014-2015. It was inspired by the 2008 novel, but is different enough that the two have to be viewed as separate entities in order to appreciate the movie. Here, Serena is mentally unstable and vulnerable underneath her surface strengths whilst, in the book, she is strong and in control until the very last line. She often wears dresses and looks glammed-up whereas the novel makes it a point that she dresses like a man, always wearing trousers. Moreover, Pemberton is much nicer here. There are several other changes as well. As such, I’m reviewing this as a stand-alone story. It’s great for the first half with top-of-the-line locations and cinematography, as well as a compelling enough drama with occasional thrills, including crimes and corruption. It goes without saying that the period piece costumes and sets are superb. At the halfway point, however, it bogs down, turning melancholy and, then, relentlessly downbeat for the final act. Think “Revolutionary Road.” So, I understand the low ratings, but there’s still a lot of gems to mine from the heart-rending proceedings. For instance, the movie stresses the expectations of wedlock, such as total faithfulness and the sense of betrayal when one is (inevitably) let down. Furthermore, with a husband and wife, it’s assumed that an heir is forthcoming and, if that fails to manifest, it can change everything, real or imagined. Think of Hannah’s situation in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel. Lastly, Rhys Ifans’ Galloway is a fascinating character, a sigma male with mystical trappings and a whiff of danger. Too bad there wasn’t enough time to flesh him out more. It runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in the Czech Republic at Barrandov Studios, Prague, with establishing shots done at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. GRADE: B-
Movie Recommendation
3 Hearts2014-09-09A twist of fate leaves a hapless accountant romantically torn between two sisters.More...
Between Us2013-10-03A group of literature-loving friends bury letters to be opened 10 years later when they will confront the dreams of their youth with what the future has held in store for them.More...
The Poker House2008-06-20Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.More...
Three2010-12-23Hanna and Simon are in a 20 year marriage with an unexciting relationship. By chance, they both meet and start separate affairs with Adam. Adam has no idea that his two lovers are married, until they are all found out when Hanna becomes pregnant, with the natural doubts stemming from their situation.More...
Well-Off People2014-01-30Umberto Maria Durloni is a successful lawyer and a socialite who likes parties and a lavish life. He's got it all, except any ethical qualms.Only a step away from the top, his perfect world crumbles, showing him the brutal do downside to his life.More...
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks2013-05-24Julian Assange. Bradley Manning. Collateral murder. Cablegate. WikiLeaks. These people and terms have exploded into public consciousness by fundamentally changing the way democratic societies deal with privacy, secrecy, and the right to information, perhaps for generations to come. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks is an extensive examination of all things related to WikiLeaks and the larger global debate over access to information.More...
Maximum Conviction2012-10-25When former black ops operative Cross and his partner Manning are assigned to decommission an old prison, they must oversee the arrival of two mysterious female prisoners. Before long, an elite force of mercenaries assault the prison in search of the new arrivals. As the true identities of the women are revealed, Cross realizes he's caught in the middle of something far bigger than he had imagined.More...
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone2014-10-08Stéphanie grew up with an absent mother and a brutal stepfather. One day, she knows, she'll leave the city to live the life she's always dreamed of.More...
Seb's Papuan Adventure2019-12-26A first-person documentary on an expedition to one of the last regions of the world still unexplored by man.More...
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom2019-02-25In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.More...
Gentleman's Agreement1947-11-11A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.More...
No God, No Master2014-04-11A plot to overthrow the United States government is uncovered in New York City in the summer of 1919 when William Flynn, a field agent for the Bureau of Investigation, is sent to investigate a bomb threat that has targeted some of America's most powerful politicians and leaders of commerce, New York millionaire John D. Rockefeller, Sr. among them. Flynn's investigation takes him on a journey into the underworld of homegrown terrorism and introduces him to a competitive culture of violence and murder. Greed, power, and politics are at the center of the story and Flynn must distinguish the villains from the merely discontented. Along the way, he discovers that terrorism has many faces and that a determination of guilt or innocence often lies in the psychology of fear that constricts individuals at every level of society. Sedona International Film Festival.More...
Bride to Be2020-04-29Russian mail order bride tries to balance her love life with her rich but morally bankrupt husband and her scruffy yet charming paramour.More...
The Skin of the Wolf2018-03-09Martinón is the last inhabitant of Auzal, a village in the mountains where he lives in communion with nature. He only goes down to the valleys twice a year to trade and to buy provisions. But one day he’s convinced to take a wife, a decision intended to soften his calloused soul—but in some ways his real struggle is only just beginning.More...
The Pack2015-08-05Man’s best friend becomes his worst nightmare when a horde of bloodthirsty wild dogs descends upon a family’s farmhouse in a fang-bearing fight for survival.More...
Song One2014-01-20Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives.More...
The United States of Leland2003-05-15A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.More...
Baggage Claim2013-09-27Although she has traveled all over the world, flight attendant Montana Moore has yet to find a man with whom she wants to settle down. However, with her sister's upcoming wedding and pressure from her oft-married mother, she's determined to get engaged in the next 30 days. In that time, her best friends (and fellow flight attendants) conspire to help her re-encounter her exes as she flies all over the country.More...
A Woman as a Friend2014-02-27Francesco and Claudia are best friends. They're inseparable and tell each other everything, until another man enters the picture stealing Claudia's heart. Francesco then realizes that friendship between man and woman is a complicated thing.More...
The Object of My Affection1998-04-17A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.More...
Similar Movies
The Edukators
2004-10-25Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.The Shawshank Redempt...
1994-09-23Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.Amadeus
1984-09-19Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.Strange Days
1995-10-13Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While they typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder.Casablanca
1943-01-15In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.Desert Hearts
1985-10-01While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.Once Upon a Time in A...
1984-05-23A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.Beyond Silence
1996-12-18Beyond Silence is about a family and a young girl’s coming of age story. This German film looks into the lives of the deaf and at a story about the love for music. A girl who has always had to translate speech into sign language for her deaf parents yet when her love for playing music grows strong she must decide to continue doing something she cannot share with her parents.Grbavica: The Land of...
2006-03-01A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.Insomnia
2002-05-24Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.Bollywood/Hollywood
2002-10-25Rahul Seth is a dashing young millionaire who believes he is "western" enough to rebel against his mother and grandmother. They are not too keen about his Caucasian girlfriend Kimberly who, to make matters worse, is a pop star. Before you can say "karmic intervention," Kimberly dies in a freak accident and Rahul is devastated. Instead of allowing him to mourn in peace, Rahul's mother sees the opportunity she's been waiting for. She threatens to call off his sister's wedding unless he finds himself a "nice Indian girl." Rahul enlists the services of Sue, a fiercely independent escort whom he believes to be Hispanic, and therefore not "married" to the conventions taught to young Indian women. With a wink in her eye, Sue accepts the deal to pose as his Indian bride-to-be. She needs the money and having never been a fan of the typical Indian male, she feels her heart is safe. The charade begins....America
No data for this movieThe life of a Romanian Orthodox Priest, who went from a hard childhood in godless, communist Romania, to the land of all freedoms, America.Female College Studen...
1983-12-01Pinku distributed by Shintoho.Eyes Wide Shut
1999-07-16After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.People on Sunday
1930-02-04A semi-documentary experimental 1930 German silent film created by amateurs with a small budget. With authentic scenes of the metropolis city of Berlin, it's the first film from the later famous screenwriters/directors Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann.Longing
2006-02-15An average, everyday metalworker and volunteer firefighter content in his marriage to his childhood sweetheart finds his emotions unexpectedly stirred when he falls for a pretty waitress from a nearby town.Miller's Crossing
1990-09-21Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.Mala Noche
1987-06-19Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.12 Angry Men
1957-04-10The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.Kuduz
1989-01-01After the release from prison, small-time criminal is marrying his girlfriend and lives a straight and poor, but happy life with her and her daughter. However, his happiness is shattered by wife's infidelity. Driven mad by jealousy, he kills her and her lover and runs into mountains, thus escaping law for months. This film is based on the true story about Junuz Kečo, last Bosnian outlaw.