Title – Serenity (2019)

Director – Steven Knight (Locke)

Cast – Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Diane Lane, Jeremy Strong

Plot – On the small community of Plymouth Island, army-vet turned fisherman Baker Dill (McConaughey) contemplates a lucrative offer from his ex-partner Karen (Hathaway) to kill her abusive husband Frank (Clarke) on a chartered fishing trip.   

“Sometimes we do bad things for good reasons”

Review by Eddie on 26/02/2019

Tis early in the year of 2019, but it’s likely that one of the strangest and most surprising film’s has already found its way onto our screens (skipping cinemas in Australia) in the form of acclaimed filmmaker Steven Knight’s Serenity.

What makes Serenity such an oddball event even more out of the blue, is the fact that this oft-delayed thriller was seemingly just your run of the mill hot and sweaty thriller with a dash of murder, starring two A-listers and a collection of solid supports, working for a filmmaker that has made a mark in works such as Eastern Promises, hit TV show Peaky Blinders and the Tom Hardy vehicle Locke.

It’s hard to talk about what makes Serenity the film you don’t expect it to be (with critics flabbergasted upon initial release in America last month) but rest assured Serenity is weird, very very weird and for some it will be too much to bare as the story of Matthew McConuahgey’s Iraq war veteran turned fishing charter captain/gigolo Baker Dill getting offered $10 million dollars by ex-partner Karen (played by Anne Hathaway) to kill her abusive husband Frank (grossly played by Jason Clarke) goes to places that not even the most eagle eyed viewers will be expecting.

In some strange way it’s amazing to witness such a high-profile and well-backed affair just completely go for it in the ideas department and while not a lot stacks up when examined in fine detail and many little plot lines remain carelessly unanswered, the zaniness and complete commitment by Knight and his cast will keep you watching regardless.

It’s a beautiful mishmash of creativity, eccentricities and quite possibly brilliance as we follow Knight and his leading man (and his unclothed butt cheeks that should win an award for best supporting actor) on Dill’s journey that sees him long to catch a tuna that’s been a subject of his fishing desires, weigh up his financially beneficial offer and help Diane Lane as his client Constance find her oft-missing pet cat.

Where Jeremy Strong’s oddball suit and tie wearing Reid Miller, a teenage computer wizz, telepathy and video games comes into the equation is best left for viewers to discover, as this thriller’s rough yet often enjoyable journey on the high-seas of high concept movie-making takes place.

Final Say –

I still can’t believe Serenity is a thing, a potentially brilliant out of the ordinary thriller that aims high and lands somewhere in the rough middle. I can see why so many have taken to Knight’s film as an early contender for the years worst, but despite all its flaws and strange choices, Serenity is always watchable and a sometimes wickedly enjoyable thriller with a difference and a heartfelt message, offering a lot more than many of its other by the numbers counterparts.

2 ½ bare buns out of 5