Serenity (2019): 8 out of 10: A fisherman Matthew McConaughey is approached by his ex-wife Anne Hathaway to kill her abusive ex-husband Jason Clarke in this Neo-Noir film
The Good: Let me start with something that would be headling "The Bad" in almost any other movie. The Island is all wrong. It is just off and it bothered me to no end during the beginning of the movie. I mean it seems a weird mix of a New England town named Plymouth and a Carribean island with fish and features from both locations scattered haphazardly. You have New England lighthouses and crab traps mixed with tropical buildings and palm trees. I would swear there is no possible explanation for such a poor set design.
Well, there is an explanation. A twist so out of left field it would not occur to me in a million years. And this is a neo-noir film a genre well known for its twists and double-crosses. I am not going to say what the twist is here. It truly is best discovered on one's own I will just say I enjoyed it which certainly seems to put me in the minority of critics and film viewers.
Outside of the twist, there is a lot to recommend this movie. It is a handsome production with good performances from the leads and a lot of little touches that make very good sense in retrospect.
The Bad: You know what as much as I enjoyed myself I was looking forward to an old fashioned neo-noir film with big stars and a Hollywood production budget. Heck at this point I would take Shannon Tweed level stars and a Canadian production budget. I mean there have been some great Neo-Noirs in the past, Mulholland Drive, L.A. Confidential, and Body Heat to name a few. But name one released in the last fifteen years? Drive maybe and Blade Runner 2049. The pickings are beyond slim.
The Ugly: Back on the I want my Neo-Noir bandwagon I do wish Serenity went a little harder into the neo-noir in the first bit of the film. I understand from a story point of view why this did not take place but certainly, the ending could have been a little more in line with a true noir if you know what I mean.
The Good: Let me start with something that would be headling "The Bad" in almost any other movie. The Island is all wrong. It is just off and it bothered me to no end during the beginning of the movie. I mean it seems a weird mix of a New England town named Plymouth and a Carribean island with fish and features from both locations scattered haphazardly. You have New England lighthouses and crab traps mixed with tropical buildings and palm trees. I would swear there is no possible explanation for such a poor set design.
Well, there is an explanation. A twist so out of left field it would not occur to me in a million years. And this is a neo-noir film a genre well known for its twists and double-crosses. I am not going to say what the twist is here. It truly is best discovered on one's own I will just say I enjoyed it which certainly seems to put me in the minority of critics and film viewers.
Outside of the twist, there is a lot to recommend this movie. It is a handsome production with good performances from the leads and a lot of little touches that make very good sense in retrospect.
The Bad: You know what as much as I enjoyed myself I was looking forward to an old fashioned neo-noir film with big stars and a Hollywood production budget. Heck at this point I would take Shannon Tweed level stars and a Canadian production budget. I mean there have been some great Neo-Noirs in the past, Mulholland Drive, L.A. Confidential, and Body Heat to name a few. But name one released in the last fifteen years? Drive maybe and Blade Runner 2049. The pickings are beyond slim.
The Ugly: Back on the I want my Neo-Noir bandwagon I do wish Serenity went a little harder into the neo-noir in the first bit of the film. I understand from a story point of view why this did not take place but certainly, the ending could have been a little more in line with a true noir if you know what I mean.