Serenity (2019) is a little-seen mystery thriller with neo-Noir vibes, written and directed by Stephen Knight (Locke) and starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Djimon Hounsou, Jason Clarke, Diane Lane and Jeremy Strong.
Baker Dill (McConaughey) is the down-on-his-luck captain of a charter boat on a small tropical island called Plymouth. He spends his days taking tourists out to fish, chasing a giant tuna he's dubbed "Justice", and occasionally hooking up with a woman named Constance so she'll give him a little cash.Then one day, his ex Karen (Hathaway) shows up with a proposition: take her abusive current husband out to sea and throw him overboard to drown, and she'll pay him ten million dollars.
And then things start to get a little Mind Screw‐y.
The film was a notable Box Office Bomb, grossing just $14.5 million on a $25 million budget. The critics weren't too fond of it either.
Not to be confused with Serenity (2005), or anything else from the Firefly franchise.
LOTS of spoilers below. Proceed at your own risk.
Serenity (2019) contains examples of:
- Animal Nemesis: Dill is obsessed with catching a particular giant tuna that keeps getting away from him. He's named it "Justice". In the opening scene of the movie, he threatens his own paying customers with a knife when they try to take over the rod while Justice is on the line.
- Big Damn Reunion: At the end of the movie, Patrick adds a version of himself into the game so that he and Dill can be together.
- Disappeared Dad: Dill hasn't seen his son Patrick since Karen left him for another man and took the boy with her. Outside of the game, Patrick's real-life dad died in Iraq.
- Domestic Abuse: Frank, towards Karen. Which is why Karen wants him killed.
- Femme Fatale: Karen wants her ex to murder her husband, and she's willing to use sex to convince him.
- Inside a Computer System: Everyone on the island, including Dill himself.
- Laser-Guided Broadcast: On the day that Dill has determined to go out after Justice even without any paying customers, the island's morning radio announcer notes that it's "a perfect day to go out there on the ocean and catch that damn fish". Justified by the fact that the entire island is a fishing video game.
- Meaningful Rename: Dill's real/original name is John Mason, but he apparently chose a new name to go with his new life on Plymouth. Karen still calls him John.
- Only Sane Employee: Duke, Dill's first mate. He's there to give Dill advice like "you shouldn't waste gas taking the boat out when you don't have paying customers" and "when you do have paying customers, you shouldn't threaten to stab them." He's also Dill's only employee, period.
- Patricide: Patrick ultimately stabs and kills his abusive stepfather Frank in real life.
- Platonic Cave: Dill finds out that he is a character in a video game that his "son"—that is, the son of the real man who he's based on—is programming.
- Small, Secluded World: The island of Plymouth, which has a small population and is a long way from the outside world. When Dill learns he's a video game character, he pulls out some maps and realizes that there is no "outside world"—it's just Plymouth, all by itself.
