What is really real in this “Serenity”?

By Jim Tortolano

I don’t like mimes, hypnotists, magicians and the like because I don’t like being fooled. But sometimes there is pleasure in being hoodwinked in a clever and stylish way.

“Serenity,” a new film starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, seems like a fairly straightforward sultry kind of film noir cinema.

Hunky but burned-out boat captain Baker Dill (McConaughey) is drinking his way through a Captain Ahab pursuit of a gigantic tuna (sorry, Charlie, right?) when his gorgeous ex-wife Karen (Hathaway) shows up with an interesting offer.

My new hubby (played by Jason Clark) is a beast who beats me, so would you please be a dear and kill him? He likes to fish, so just take him out to deep water and toss him overboard. And for that little chore, here’s a bucketload of cash.

That’s the overt plot, but nothing in this tale is quite what it seems. All credit to Steven Knight, who wrote and directed it. A few things don’t add up here and there, but you hardly notice that with the tropic scenery and a few steamy scenes.

I don’t want to include any spoilers here, but there’s a puppet-master behind it all. Or is there?

The film gets points for originality, but Matt is playing a similar role to many he’s played before, and Hathaway is largely just eye-candy, dressed in her Ingrid Bergman-style wardrobe.

How much you like this movie may depend on how much you like being tricked.  Let’s just say with this film that, well, everything’s fishy.

“Serenity” is rated R for profanity, violence, nudity, sexual situations and alcohol abuse.