The Descendants

directed by Alexander Payne

(D, FG, IN)

In short, the following phrase is somewhat spoon-fed to us at the get go of the film but it does summarize the movie quite well:
“Just because we live in a beautiful place doesn’t mean our lives are beautiful…”

George Clooney plays Matt King, the father of 2 girls and husband of a wife who is in a coma. In the film Matt is dealing with what to do about his wife in her coma that she will never wake from, finding out that his wife was cheating on him before her boating accident and if he going to sell his inherited acres of virgin Hawaiian paradise. Clooney’s character (Matt King) has many cousins that weigh in on his decision about selling the land and who to sell it to. So in turn we see what I call a ‘war of the Kings’ which plays into Alexander Payne’s tension building throughout out the film. Although it wasn’t hard, I applaud the juxtaposition of beauty behind the turmoil in the foreground (being the characters) and it really made me see a different side to Hawaii. What carries you through to the end is at the end of Act 1 when it takes off on a plot driven journey of revenge that isn’t quite as satisfying as you want it to be, but maybe that’s the point; of revenge and the intent of Payne. Thankfully the film does complete its journey with death being left behind them in the ocean and continues with a new united family.

The film does a good job of being funny and emotional and most importantly human. You are forced to deal with raw human emotion all throughout and at no point do you resent it or want out. Clooney’s character is oh so helpless and yet so relatable even if you’re not a dad. We definitely are seeing one of his best roles yet and most assuredly my favorite wardrobe selection of any film he’s been in. So I say go see this film to remind yourself that there are good filmmakers out there and movies still know how to give you an escape even if it is a bit palpable and human.

If you like any of the below movies, you will like this film.

-Sideways
-About Schmidt
-Fun with Dick and Jane
-A Streetcar Name Desire
-Kramer VS Kramer