Manuel here to walk us through the recently released trailer for a film many of us had surely written off, Susanne Bier’s Serena. The 2012 film will finally see the light of day when it premiere next month at the London Film Festival. It kept making me think of other films and other issues; never a good sign. But we'll start positive.
YES
- This moment, mostly because it reminded me of the tenacity of Lawrence’s most accomplished roles (Katniss and Ree).
- Lawrence’s hair, makeup and costumes. 1930s country glamor? Yes, please.
- Cooper’s pecs, soon to be seen on Broadway this season in The Elephant Man.
- To sum up: Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence. Whatever qualms one may have with the one-two punch of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, one cannot deny the fact that Cooper and Lawrence have great chemistry. I’d ask whether third time’s the charm, but for the fact that Hustle was shot, edited, and released after Serena wrapped up. These two stars are definitely the main selling point of the film. Bonus: the trailer gives us plenty of beautifully lit close-ups that showcase Cooper’s blue eyes and Lawrence’s luscious red lips.
Nos & Maybe Sos after the jump plus the trailer itself!
NO
- Fey ascotted villain threatening the hetero-couple whose love conquers all? Definitely a no.
- “Some loves can never let you go.” Maybe it’s the (intentionally?) awkward phrasing but that’s a mouthful of a line, one that just makes me wonder what that even means. Which brings me to ask:
- What is this film about other than two beautifully coiffed people amidst a number of obstacles in the wilderness; this trailer really doesn’t help you, does it? I’m not saying I needed a mini-plot synopsis in the film, but there’s little here to orient us as to what the central concerns of the film will be other than… love and something about the property? Here’s where a title or a tag-line would help us, but Serena and the aforementioned line play coy without hinting at something concrete to hold on to.
MAYBE SO
- This moment. I can't decide whether it's insanely awesome or well, awesomely insane.
- I was going to single out the below-the-line aspects of the film, but as I kept thinking about it, nothing here stands out though that’s not to say it is in any way lacking. Visually and thematically, it reminds me of John Hillcoat’s Lawless, a movie I did not much care for except for Jessica Chastain’s performance, a luminous presence in an otherwise oppressively bloody masculine storyline.
- Is it me or do filmmakers continue to cast Jennifer Lawrence in roles that skew a lot older than she is, blunting her youthful spontaneity and vivacity? She’s never not thrilling to watch, and while we may chalk up her older co-stars (Bale, Cooper, McAvoy, Fassbender are all in their late 30s) to Hollywood’s double standards, it strikes me that what a lot of us read as a strong resilient character in Winter’s Bone’s Ree became shorthand for a handful of (casting) directors as “maturity.” It’s not surprising that despite those pair of Oscar nominations, her most interesting work (even at times against the tone of the very films she shoulders) happens within the constraints of the YA juggernaut that is The Hunger Games.
- That first scene on horseback made me wish this was a 30s screwball comedy, with Lawrence in the Hepburn role but alas the rest of the film feels a bit dour with melodramatic dialogue taking center stage.
Buzz about this title has been...mixed at best (not for nothing has it been delayed for years) and this trailer, while handsome, does little to whet my appetite.
Verdict: I’m a Maybe So/No, but I’ll also admit this genre and period have never been draws for me. Have you been waiting for a glimpse of Serena for a while? Did this trailer in any way seduce you into falling for the eponymous protagonist?