SERENITY: Baffling, Outrageous, But Excitingly Original Nonetheless

Serenity is a neo-noir thriller directed, co-produced and written by Steven Knight. It tells the story of a fishing boat captain Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey), who is approached by his ex-wife Karen (Anne Hathaway) who asks him to murder her abusive new husband Frank (Jason Clarke).

Baker lives on Plymouth Island, where he struggles to keep himself afloat financially by only catching tuna. He is passionate, even obsessive about fishing, as we are shown in a beautifully shot opening sequence where Baker struggles to catch a large tuna – Baker has named it Justice (!) – which has eluded him for some time. Baker has frequent visions, memories of his son Patrick (Rafael Sayegh) to whom he lost custody, so when his ex-wife appears out of thin air, offering to pay Baker $10 million to protect her and their son from abuse, Baker struggles with the decision.

The result of this fairly simple premise is a baffling film that subverts viewer expectations. In every subsequent moment, through every scene, Serenity feels as though it’s headed in a different direction, exploring a different genre, and for better or for worse, this keeps the viewer on their toes and makes for a truly entertaining ride.

“You fish for one tuna. And that’s a tuna that’s only in your head.”

Our first impression of Baker is centered around his obsession with catching “Justice.” He is told time and time again that the tuna is just in his head; it seems that perhaps his obsession has led him to hallucinate. This initially seems to be the thematic and emotional center of the film; obsession and the way it isolates Baker from society and reality, and the way he must overcome it.

Anne Hathaway appears as Baker’s ex-husband Karen, and the score swells. Karen has the husky vocal quality and dyed blonde waves of a classic femme fatale, and her position in the story is similar – she tempts Baker with an attractive offer, draws him back into a past he had tried to leave behind. She is controlling but also vulnerable; she fears leaving her husband due to his powerful, ambiguously mob and/or drug related connections. Subsequently, the film briefly revels in the genre conventions of a crime thriller or noir, in which Baker must evaluate his values and his personal relationships and decide whether or not to commit a horrible crime. As would be expected, there is sexual intrigue, tragedy, tension.

As a noir, as long as it commits to it, it feels somewhat unsuccessful. Frank is cartoonishly reprehensible from the start, and his lack of depth makes Baker’s moral dilemma somewhat less interesting. These elements and their effectiveness or lack thereof are proved to be largely immaterial, however, because the true nature of this film is buried even deeper.

“If I didn’t catch fish all day I’d find a way to kill you.”

There are hints that something otherworldly is going on in the world of Plymouth Island. Baker has an almost telepathic connection with his son, for example, experienced through water and by other means. Baker is also followed by businessman Reid Miller (Jeremy Strong), who has urgent news, the nature of which is initially unclear. Miller certainly feels like a character out of time and place, and often from another film altogether, and due to earlier musings about obsession and delusion, he initially seem to be the key to unlocking the true story of Serenity.

There is, however, a twist. The way this twist manifests is absolutely unreal, unexpected, laughable. It is impactful in its boldness, even if there are some details of the twist that threaten to fall apart if examined too closely. But it’s undoubtedly surprising, and that surprise is enough to warrant praise.

A film that looks as well put together as Serenity does, much less with the cast that Serenity has (Diane Lane!), does not initially seem to lend itself to risky absurdity. Aesthetically, the film is strong throughout, and the slick visual quality may be another reason why the twists and turns in genre are surprising. Serenity is beautifully shot, with interesting, varied camerawork. Settings are vibrant and textured, with striking color palettes and interesting set details. The performances are strong overall, and Hathaway and McConaughey, who have some of the clunkiest lines to deliver, do admirably, with McConaughey in particular bringing genuine emotion and connecting to the emotional stakes of every scene.

Serenity: Conclusion

Serenity is, at its core, a story of a man’s assertion of his agency and personhood amidst the manipulation of others. It is riveting, it is absurd, and it is original. It demands the viewer’s attention in its defiance of expectations, not only within its own narrative but on a meta level.

Viewers can generally assume the type of story that will accompany certain casting decisions, certain genres, certain aesthetic choices, and Knight uses these assumptions about a film’s presentation to create surprise on several levels. The result is a little bit genius, a little bit of a mess, but at the very least it is something interesting, and it commits to itself and its choices.

“So in short nobody knows anything,” Baker says near the end of the film. Perhaps. But the journey itself is more than enough to make Serenity a worthwhile, entertaining watch.

For you, is a twist enough to make or break a film?

Serenity was released in the United States on January 25, 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbrOMrjhyvI