Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper team up again for 'Serena'
Darren Aronofsky (at one point) had his eye on directing , an adaptation of Ron Rash鈥檚 Shakespearean tragedy-style historical novel, with Angelina Jolie in the lead. That鈥檚 no longer happening, as the project is instead being adapted for the big screen and helmed by Susanne Bier 鈥� a Danish filmmaker whose resume includes broody dramas such as Things We Lost in the Fire and the Foreign Language Oscar-winning In a Better World.
However, the Serena adaptation has still managed to secure two hot Hollywood talents, in the form of star Bradley Cooper and Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence (this year鈥檚 ) 鈥� a duo who, as it were, is fresh off working on director David O. Russell鈥檚 together.
Serena (the novel) takes place in 1929 North Carolina, where newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel, in order to make their fortune in the timber business. Serena proves herself to be not only a highly-competent boss, but also a fearless pioneer who鈥檚 capable of handling anything the wilderness can throw her way. However, Serena鈥檚 ambition takes a turn for the dangerous, when she learns that she cannot bear children, and (eventually) thereafter sets out to murder George鈥檚 illegitimate son 鈥� who he fathered while living in the timber camp, prior to Serena鈥檚 arrival -聽all while the pair鈥檚 onetime 鈥减补蝉蝉颈辞苍补迟别鈥� union begins to spiral (dangerously) downward.
has the scoop on Cooper and Lawrence teaming up for Serena, which will see Lawrence back to working on indie turf (a la Winter鈥檚 Bone, The Beaver, Like Crazy) after her recent turns in big-budgeted fare such as The Hunger Games and .
Similarly, Serena will be just the latest gloomy character-oriented drama to feature Cooper in some capacity 鈥� following on the heels of this year鈥檚聽Sundance breakout flick, The Words, and director Derek Cianfrance鈥檚 The Place Beyond the Pines, which is due to hit theaters later in 2012.
That is to say: Cooper and Lawrence really are more than just pretty faces that pop up in commercial Hollywood productions. This will also be the case with Silver Linings Playbook, in which the two also play a dysfunctional couple 鈥� though, in Russell鈥檚 film, they鈥檒l be portraying a comical pair of oddballs (as opposed to the back-stabbing spouses from Serena).
Cooper and Lawrence on the 'Silver Linings Playbook' set
The unscrupulous George and conniving Serena both sound like roles that Cooper and Lawrence are well fit for handling, respectively 鈥� with the latter character (who almost sounds like a female version of Daniel Plainview from There Will be Blood) being the really 鈥渏uicy鈥� part that should allow Lawrence to truly flex her complex acting muscles.
Similarly, having a 21-year-old actress handle the titular role could result in a more interesting portrayal of a woman denied the opportunity to become a mother 鈥� as opposed to having a more matured starlet (like the 36-year-old Jolie) take on the part. So, again, Lawrence is an intriguing choice, if only for that reason.
Bier, as mentioned before, is know for crafting melancholic tales about damaged people 鈥� so, her working on Serena聽sounds promising enough. Aronofsky鈥檚 name might鈥檝e helped attract more attention, but it is certainly possible that Bier will ultimately prove to be the better fit for bringing this troubling tale to cinematic life.
Sandy Schaefer blogs at .
