The Imaginary Fisherman

If there’s a prime example of a film that’s DOA before it even hits theatres, Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey’s latest would be it. One would expect that a neo‑noir thriller starring such proven talents as McConaughey and Anne Hathaway as well as a solid supporting cast including Jason Clarke, Diane Lane and Djimon Hounsou would at least enjoy some moderate success critically and commercially, but sadly that just wasn’t in the cards for ‘Serenity’ (not to be confused with the Joss Whedon ‘Firefly’ movie spin-off), which sunk – no pun intended, okay maybe a little – at the box office due to a lack of marketing/promotion, lackluster audience reception and savagery from critics.  What, you haven’t even heard of this movie?  I rest my case.

 

'Serenity’ is a high-concept, off-beat and genre-defying cinematic exercise, basically everything that a movie which aims to make money shouldn’t be.  And it succeeded brilliantly in that regard, having made less than $10 million so far on a $25 million budget after three weeks.  McConaughey and Hathaway didn’t even get to promote the film because the producers didn’t think it would do any good.  Why?  Apparently test audiences did not receive this movie, about a penniless fisherman (McConaughey) in a fishing village on an island who was one day approached by his ex-wife (Hathaway) to perpetrate the “perfect crime” by murdering her rich but abusive husband (Clarke) and making it look like an accident, very well at all.

 

To be honest, I didn’t receive ‘Serenity’ all that well either.  It is dreary and depressive, a frustratingly tedious and plodding mess of a movie over its one hour, forty-six minute running time.  While I’m aware ‘Serenity’ is an art-house, avant-garde neo-noir movie (which by default would normally intrigue me), its story isn’t all that interesting and its cast of flawed characters aren’t very engaging either.  Despite being ripped by some critics, the film’s unexpected and shocking Matrix-style “Shyamalan Twist” at the end was actually not bad, but that alone wasn’t enough for me to recommend it.

Grade: C-