Serena
Directed by Susanne Bier
- drama
The story
North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s – George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newly-weds, begin to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers George’s hidden past and faces an unchangeable fate of her own, the Pemberton’s passionate marriage begins to unravel leading toward a dramatic reckoning.
What it’s like
Sweeping mountain vistas in deep greens and burnished autumn browns, with mist sitting low in the valleys and raw timber, mud and lamplight in the lumber camps. The camera drifts across forest and mansion interiors in warm amber, and the period costume and set dressing give everything a heavy, lived-in texture. Its vibe is lush, brooding and operatic, the kind of gothic romance that suits a rainy evening with the lights low. The pace is deliberate and the emotional register is intense: a passionate, power-hungry marriage slowly curdling into resentment and dread. Violence is present and sometimes sudden, including a killing and a few harsh confrontations, and there are sexual scenes, but the emphasis stays on mood and tension rather than gore. It is for viewers who enjoy sweeping period drama, ambitious and morally tangled couples, and the slow-burn unraveling of a grand dream.
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