Serenity

R

Released Jan 25, 2019

1h 43m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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List

21%

201 Reviews

Tomatometer

30%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Baker Dill is a fishing boat captain who leads tours off of the tranquil enclave of Plymouth Island. His peaceful life is soon shattered when his ex-wife Karen tracks him down. Desperate for help, Karen begs Baker to save her -- and their young son -- from her abusive husband. She wants him to take the brute out for a fishing excursion -- then throw him overboard to the sharks. Thrust back into a life that he wanted to forget, Baker now finds himself struggling to choose between right and wrong.

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Critics Consensus

A high-concept mystery with a twist, Serenity isn't what it appears to be at first -- unfortunately, it's also not anywhere near as clever or entertaining as it thinks.

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's sort of intriguingly bad... [But] it's worth seeing -- the cast is terrific.

Sep 17, 2019

Full Review

Michael Sragow

Film Comment Magazine

A crackpot suspense film about a fishing boat captain who veers into perilous existential waters, Serenity tries to pull off a "bait-and-switch" times two. But will anyone take the bait either time?

Mar 21, 2019

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

When the twist was revealed I went, "Yeah, I know."

Mar 5, 2019

Full Review

Ryan McQuade

InSession Film

When he reaches for the stars, Knight fails to catch anything, thus leading me to admire what this film could have been, instead of what we were given.

Rated: D

Apr 4, 2024

Full Review

Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

Serenity tries to go big and bold, but falls astonishingly flat. Plot holes, logical incongruencies, awful dialogues, terrible editing, hollow characters, and neglected subplots (...) one of the worst films of 2019.

Rated: D-

Jul 24, 2023

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…the over-heated melodrama in Serenity gives way to abstract cosmic ruminations in a glib, silly way that should provoke mirth in all those unlucky enough to set sail in with her crew…

Rated: 2/5

Jun 20, 2023

Full Review

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Nicholas G

The concept was compelling. Everything lined up for a great movie. But this just missed, plain and simple. Needed more from Hathaway, surprisingly she didn't deliver. Good try but no.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

Full Review

PinkRoses

I gave this movie 2 stars only because Matthew is such a fine man & great actor. The storyline was good until the salesman comes along & throws the whole plot off. I could not follow the second half of the movie because it was so confusing!! I only understood the ending when I read the twist on-line.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/20/24

Full Review

Igor S

It's not a totally bad movie but i wanted to like it more than i did. Sadly, the delivery was not good, took too long to get going, there were unecessary sex scenes and the concepts were never truly fleshed out. I don't mind slow burners, when they are interesting. Without spoiling anything: i imagine many people turning this movie off without seeing what it's actually all about. Near the end, as it FINALLY starts going, it has a really good concept, but by then, it's kind of too late and it leaves you frustrated because they should have focused on that stuff all along and fleshed out those concepts. It's kind of weird; like there were 2 totally different movies, written by 2 different people, and then someone decided to merge them, leading to a less than satisfying result. Or like it was written by AI or an old man trying to explain a foreign concept. It's a shame, because i love Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Paul H

I think the critics missed the boat on this one. This is a wholy original concept. The movie is intense, scary, and a lot of fun to watch.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

A movie where the twist doesnt work and since the twist is so terrible the entire movie looses all the promise it once had.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Hollibird

I liked it until the end when he realizes (not spoiling). That's just not believable. I did like the fate of abusive husband.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

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Steven Knight

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Baker Dill

Anne Hathaway

Karen Zariakas

Jason Clarke

Frank Zariakas

Diane Lane

Constance

Djimon Hounsou

Duke

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Serenity: Trailer 2

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Serenity: Trailer 1

2:23

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Synopsis

Baker Dill is a fishing boat captain who leads tours off of the tranquil enclave of Plymouth Island. His peaceful life is soon shattered when his ex-wife Karen tracks him down. Desperate for help, Karen begs Baker to save her -- and their young son -- from her abusive husband. She wants him to take the brute out for a fishing excursion -- then throw him overboard to the sharks. Thrust back into a life that he wanted to forget, Baker now finds himself struggling to choose between right and wrong.

Director: Steven Knight
Producer: Stuart Ford, Deborah Zipser, Karine Martin, David Lipman, Jeff Stentz, Carsten H.W. Lorenz, Paul Webster, David Dinerstein, Jason Resnick, William Sadleir
Screenwriter: Steven Knight
Distributor: Aviron Pictures
Production Co: Nebula Star, Shoebox Films
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language Throughout|Some Bloody Images)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2019, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 23, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.5M
Runtime: 1h 43m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)