You’ve probably heard that Serenity has an insane plot twist, but that doesn’t even begin to cover it. For the film’s first half, audiences are led to believe that it is a modern-day tropical noir thriller along the lines of Body Heat. As it unravels, however, it morphs into a complete mind-meddle that would have made Rod Serling proud.
Featuring a stellar cast (Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane), the film is worth seeing, even though its story eventually goes in a direction that is jarring, to say the least. Writer/director Steven Knight deserves praise for his creative ambition. He doesn’t just pull a one-eighty after the film’s setup, he does several three-sixties before settling on a film that faces in the complete opposite direction.
This sounds great and wild on paper, and it is admirable how the ambitious film strives to be something groundbreaking. Serenity only partially succeeds, however, as the film comes close to tearing itself apart and it ultimately doesn’t reach the emotional heights that it aspires to in the end.
Serenity is a worthwhile experiment that doesn’t completely pay off, but it’s fascinating to watch it try. In the years to come and with repeat viewings, it could very well become a more-appreciated cult classic. For now, however, it’s an admirable head-scratcher that falls short of greatness.
GRADE: B
