WHAT’S not to like about a gutsy melodrama?

Director Susanne Bier engaged art director Martin Kurel to convert a Czechoslovakian valley into a 1920s North Carolina logging camp. There, adapting Ron Rash’s book, Christopher Kyle’s screenplay builds melodrama’s foundation when timber tycoon George (Bradley Cooper) gallops after a spectacular platinum blonde astride a galloping white horse. Smart girl, she lets him catch her. Unconstrained by introduction or romantic chit-chat, he says they really should marry.

Orphaned in early teens and growing up in logging camps, Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) knows the lumber business very well. She and George spend much time practising getting pregnant. We know the delay isn’t down to him – in the pre-Serena era, a Native American girl bore his child.

George wants to clear-fell his logging concession. The local community, led by Sheriff McDowell (an impressive performance from Toby Jones), wants it as national park. The land-use alternatives splitting the community take unexpected turns. A bloodstained miscarriage drives Serena into deep depression. Records of malfeasances and political favours are in a locked drawer of George’s desk. Tensions build.

There’s little humour in Serena’s movie. But as the foregoing selection from its dramatic elements indicates (there’s more than just those) its dramatic values offer effective compensation. Yay, melodrama! A meaty one like this, with sidebars examining social issues, offers an agreeable diversion from 21st century life’s depressing realities.

At Palace Electric, Dendy, Capitol 6 and Hoyts