Serena (2014)

In Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton's timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena.

Director:

Susanne Bier

Writers:

Christopher Kyle (screenplay), Ron Rash (based on the book by)

Stars:

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Rhys Ifans

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bradley Cooper	...	George Pemberton
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Serena Pemberton
Rhys Ifans	...	Galloway
Toby Jones	...	Sheriff McDowell
David Dencik	...	Buchanan
Sean Harris	...	Campbell
Ana Ularu	...	Rachel Hermann
Sam Reid	...	Vaughn
Conleth Hill	...	Doctor Chaney
Charity Wakefield	...	Agatha
Douglas Hodge	...	Horace Kephart
Kim Bodnia	...	Abe Hermann
Christian McKay	...	Boston bank manager (as Christian Mckay)
Philip Zandén	...	Calhoun (as Philip Zanden)
Ned Dennehy	...	Ledbetter

Storyline

In Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton's timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena.

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Plot Keywords:

axe accident | murder disguised as hunting accident | logging baron | timber camp | timbering accident | 

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Taglines:

Some loves can never let you go.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Apart from Cooper and Lawrence, the majority of the film's cast are not American. Their nationalities include English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Polish, Romanian, Dutch, Danish, Czech and Swedish. The Czech Republic stood in for Carolina in the shoot.

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Goofs

At minute 40:07 Pemberton and Buchanan encounter the bear. The bear that appears on screen is a grizzly, not a black bear. Grizzlies did not inhabit the Smoky Mountains of 1929.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pemberton: Hell, that dog's bigger than that. I thought you said there were panthers here.
Galloway: I ain't seen a panther in these mountains for nine years.
Pemberton: What about the carcass we found up in Noland? Something mauled that.
Galloway: That weren't no panther. Chest weren't torn open. They eat the heart first.
Pemberton: You find me an honest-to-God panther to hunt, and I'll give you a $20 gold piece.
Galloway: If there's a panther still around here it's likely touched by the devil. They end up hunting you.
Pemberton: Well, I want one.

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Connections

Featured in Top 5 Best/Worst: Top 5 Worst Jennifer Lawrence Performances (2016)

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Soundtracks

Beignet Cakewalk
Written by Jeff Ford and Michael Esneault (as Mike Esneault)
Courtesy of FirstCom Music

User Reviews

Not Bewitching

Despite the oddly virulent reviews of Serena posted on this site, Serena is not a bad film, simply a dull one. Beautiful cinematography (it was filmed in the Czech Republic) and costume design can't hide the flaws of the director's decisions. The film is weirdly static, with no flow from scene to scene. Because of that, the actors aren't allowed to build their performances, actions seem simply to happen and no point of view is made or advanced. The famed Lawrence/Cooper chemistry is notably absent because of this directorial decision. There are births, deaths, accidents with no relation in the larger scheme of the movie. Lawrence is stunning in the period costumes, Rhys Ifans virtually unidentifiable in the best performance of Serena and Bradley Cooper continues his aversion to razors as the stubble-faced husband/owner of the logging company. (BTW: this appearance is notably out of sync for a period piece. No business owner in the first half of the 20th century would appear in public with a 2 day growth of whiskers.)Coming off the previous successes of the Lawrence/Cooper team, this film is a failure that can only be laid at the director's feet. It's a shame that their work is dissipated in this way.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

Czech Republic France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Falling

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$100,090, 29 March 2015

Gross USA:

$176,391

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,092,129

Company Credits

Production Co:

2929 Productions, Chockstone Pictures, Nick Wechsler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1