Mark Reviews Movies: SERENITY (2019)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | January 24, 2019

Steven Knight's screenplay for Serenity features a twist so bonkers that it's really a shame the movie doesn't justify spoiling it for critical effect. I could, dear reader, tell you anyway, but then you would assume that I either misunderstood the movie or had fallen asleep and dreamt up the most unlikely turn that a seemingly clear-cut neo-noir could take.

There is no misunderstanding this particular revelation, though, since the movie is quite explicit in its explanation. Given the context of its initial disclosure, one almost hopes that the twist is merely the fantasy of its protagonist in a late-night, sleep-deprived, and drunken stupor. Alas, the truth of the movie's reality is as clear as the twist is out-of-left-field wacky.

This is not to insinuate that the movie is successful in its aims until the twist arrives. To the contrary, Knight, who also directed, gives us a pretty standard plot, filled with rote dialogue, one-dimensional characters, and a staid tone that undermines the story's sometimes lurid intentions. What's strange is that the twist actually helps to explain why everything that happens and everyone involved are as bland as they are. The problem before the twist is that we have little reason to care for the plot and the characters before the trick is revealed. The problem after the twist is that Knight only confirms that there actually is no reason to care about any of this.

The setting is Plymouth Island, where everyone knows everybody else's business. The business isn't typically exciting, though. Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey) is a fisherman living on the island, who takes tourists out on fishing trips on his boat. His first mate is Duke (Djimon Hounsou), who sticks with Baker, despite the fact that the boss is in financial straits.

Baker's situation is only worsened by his obsession with a giant tuna that keeps getting away from him. He could have other interests, such as actually making money or maybe settling down with Constance (Diane Lane), who pays him to make ends meet after their regular afternoon liaisons. Instead, Baker's entire life seems to be devoted to catching that damned fish.

Things take a turn, though, when Karen (Anne Hathaway) arrives on the island. The two knew each other in a previous life, before Baker went off to fight in Iraq and during which they had a child together. Now, Karen is married to Frank (Jason Clarke), an abusive so-and-so with a lot of money and influence.

Karen wants her husband out of her and her son Patrick's (Rafael Sayegh) lives, but she fears that any attempt to leave him would result in Frank killing her. Frank will be arriving on the island in a day, and Karen offers Baker $10 million to take him out on a fishing trip and push him into the water to be eaten by sharks.

This is pretty standard, familiar, and straightforward, right? Baker faces a crisis of conscience, between saving his old love—and, more importantly, his son—by way of murder and just going about his routine, pretending that none of this has happened. That latter option might be why, even after learning about the horrible conditions in which Karen and Patrick must live, Baker still appears to have an almost robotic compulsion to keep looking for that damned fish.

How, though, does this explain the constant appearance Reid (Jeremy Strong), a mousy man in a suit whose movements are robotic and who seems to know exactly where Baker will be at any given moment? How, also, does this explain how Baker appears to have a mystical connection to his son, who spends his days locked away in his bedroom in front of a computer?

To explain or suggest anything else might give away Knight's game, which might be the only thing—as ridiculous and misguided as it might be—of interest in this plodding tale. What can be said is that the twist is counterproductive to maintaining or generating drama, since it basically means that none of what happens or will happen actually matters. It also establishes a series of rules for the world and the characters that seem contradictory if one gives them even a minor thought (Murder is an absolute wrong, but apparently, sex, rape, child molestation, and physical abuse are fine by those same rules).

To be fair, Knight does kind of explain away that contradiction, given the context of the experiences of the real main character, but since the focus is mostly on the happenings on the island, that character's story matters even less within the whole of the movie. Ultimately, Serenity is a dull melodrama that extinguishes any possible investment before it actually becomes a thriller.

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