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Poster for Serena

Serena

Some loves can never let go.

2014 · 1h 49m · R Drama
Directed by Susanne Bier

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Overview

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.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
17%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Absolutely nothing works. No one seems to understand the place or the people. And the only thing gleaned from the lumber industry is that you can build an entire movie from performances made of wood.

Wesley Morris, Grantland
Rotten

In other words, a lot of people realized they had an epic clunker on their hands.

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten

Given these unpromising circumstances, I was expecting something truly awful, and perhaps that might have been more fun to watch than this lugubrious period piece. The production values and the costumes are the true stars.

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Rotten

The actors don't just look uncomfortable in their period duds, they also look uneasy in their own skins, which is a feat for two such natural, physically confident screen performers.

Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Fresh

The performers are as beautiful to look at here as they are intriguing to watch.

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

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