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This is in no way comprehensive or representational of the entirety of what I love about Serenity. But, after 6 viewings, there are a few things that just make me feel like someone’s electrocuted my heart every time. And a few other things that just feel like someone’s punched me in the heart. And a few things that merely make me come a little.
- River’s voice, after they view the beacon on Miranda. “I’m alright” and later “That’s the plan”. River’s voice. like we’ve never heard it before, clear and in control.
- The shot on Miranda, Wash has just turned off the comm device, River’s on the floor vomiting. The shot of Simon, that starts with his hands (maybe shaking a little), coming into the frame first, followed by the rest of him as he crouches down next to River. Exactly the same shot that’s used in the pilot episode where he crouches down next to her once she’s come screaming out of the cryo unit.
- Mal’s “You shot me in the back! I haven’t made you angry, have I?” delivered with such intense, vicious glee.
- Inara’s smile at Mal’s “Good answer.” No wiles to be seen, just blossoming, innocent pleasure at the praise.
- The reaver chase at the start of the film, with River hiding behind the seat and Mal and Jayne shooting from the back seat. When the missile-thing lands in the case where Jayne’s clips are, and he yells out because he nearly lost his fingers; River surges up from her hiding place to see what happened.
- When they’re ‘landing’ on Mr Universe’s moon. Oh god, it was awful the first time, but every single time it tears me apart, each part of Serenity that’s ripped or torn or blasted off in that short stretch.
- The way Wash’s trajectory changes from the point he discovers the beacon. Before that he’s “can we just NOT have violence?” and “do we care? are we caring?” but after that, he’s always the one to initiate: “let’s find that beacon” and turning off the beacon at the end, etc. OH. WASH.
- The sucker-punch of Mal’s speech didn’t actually hit me until about the 3rd or 4th viewing. I don’t mean, the impact of the speech itself, but the fact that he doesn’t really need the speech by the end of it, because that’s what the film’s all about. The love Mal has for his crew, and vice versa. like the Shepherd’s last words: “I don’t care what you believe in. Just believe whatever you--” --love. Which is the crew. Which he does. “We all stick together” he says, when they get into Mr Universe’s facility, and needs Zoe to tell him that they’re going to “buy him the time”, stay and sacrifice themselves to he can get through. Sure, I think a sense of moral justice helps drive them on, and make them decide to try and broadwave the beacon, but when it boils down to it, the crew is pretty damn existential. but they exist as one being. Mal pushes on just as much for the threat to River’s life and the killing of Book (“can’t order me around boy, I’m not one of your crew”/ “yes you are”) as for the Greater Good, if not more. Oh, i can’t even articulate what i mean. It’s sublime.
- “Storm’s getting worse” / “We’ll pass through it, soon enough”, and then, then the music swelling and Serenity passing through the clouds and doing a little spin-drop of joy and zooming off and oh.
Oh. Oh. Love.
- River’s voice, after they view the beacon on Miranda. “I’m alright” and later “That’s the plan”. River’s voice. like we’ve never heard it before, clear and in control.
- The shot on Miranda, Wash has just turned off the comm device, River’s on the floor vomiting. The shot of Simon, that starts with his hands (maybe shaking a little), coming into the frame first, followed by the rest of him as he crouches down next to River. Exactly the same shot that’s used in the pilot episode where he crouches down next to her once she’s come screaming out of the cryo unit.
- Mal’s “You shot me in the back! I haven’t made you angry, have I?” delivered with such intense, vicious glee.
- Inara’s smile at Mal’s “Good answer.” No wiles to be seen, just blossoming, innocent pleasure at the praise.
- The reaver chase at the start of the film, with River hiding behind the seat and Mal and Jayne shooting from the back seat. When the missile-thing lands in the case where Jayne’s clips are, and he yells out because he nearly lost his fingers; River surges up from her hiding place to see what happened.
- When they’re ‘landing’ on Mr Universe’s moon. Oh god, it was awful the first time, but every single time it tears me apart, each part of Serenity that’s ripped or torn or blasted off in that short stretch.
- The way Wash’s trajectory changes from the point he discovers the beacon. Before that he’s “can we just NOT have violence?” and “do we care? are we caring?” but after that, he’s always the one to initiate: “let’s find that beacon” and turning off the beacon at the end, etc. OH. WASH.
- The sucker-punch of Mal’s speech didn’t actually hit me until about the 3rd or 4th viewing. I don’t mean, the impact of the speech itself, but the fact that he doesn’t really need the speech by the end of it, because that’s what the film’s all about. The love Mal has for his crew, and vice versa. like the Shepherd’s last words: “I don’t care what you believe in. Just believe whatever you--” --love. Which is the crew. Which he does. “We all stick together” he says, when they get into Mr Universe’s facility, and needs Zoe to tell him that they’re going to “buy him the time”, stay and sacrifice themselves to he can get through. Sure, I think a sense of moral justice helps drive them on, and make them decide to try and broadwave the beacon, but when it boils down to it, the crew is pretty damn existential. but they exist as one being. Mal pushes on just as much for the threat to River’s life and the killing of Book (“can’t order me around boy, I’m not one of your crew”/ “yes you are”) as for the Greater Good, if not more. Oh, i can’t even articulate what i mean. It’s sublime.
- “Storm’s getting worse” / “We’ll pass through it, soon enough”, and then, then the music swelling and Serenity passing through the clouds and doing a little spin-drop of joy and zooming off and oh.
Oh. Oh. Love.