Starring;
George Clooney
Shailene Woodley
Nick Krause
Matthew Lillard
Judy Geer
Beau Bridges
Director;
Alexander Payne
In three words; Funny – Enjoyable – Emotional
Plot;
Matt King (Clooney) is a lawyer and is the sole trustee of a family trust which owns a large part of on a Hawaiian island. The trust is due to vote to sell the land with a native of Hawaii being the front runner. However, Matt’s wife is injured in a boating accident which leaves her in a coma. Matt is forced to look after his two children whilst dealing with the stress of his wife’s deteriorating health and the land sale. A further spanner is thrown into the works when he learns that his wife was having an affair.
Review;
Matt King is a wealthy lawyer living in Hawaii. He is very well off due to inheritance however he lives off his earnings from his practice. He is also the sole trustee of a family trust which owns 25,000 acres of ‘virgin’ land on the Hawaiian island of Kaunai. The trust is due to expire in seven years and the family have decided that they wish to cash in on the sale of the land. Not long before Matt and his extended family are due to meet his wife is injured in a boating accident which leaves her in a coma. Matt is forced to look after his two daughters and by his own admission he is not up to the job. He is the understudy parent.
Soon after he learns of his wife’s infidelity and decides to track down her lover, a local real estate agent called Brian Spears (Matthew Lillard). With the assistance of his older daughter Matt attempts to confront Brian and to inform him of his wife’s condition.
Payne provides us with a unique view of Hawaii, a look that we would never normally see in a film. He portrays the island as being as normal and ordinary as anywhere else. It’s filmed wonderfully. Payne is at best when bringing the story and visual together. However, I love that the blokes are wearing horribly loud shirts and that Clooney goes into people’s houses in bare feet, leaving his shoes outside. Little things like this remind us where the film is set.
Payne places a lot of faith in his actors and he is rewarded with excellent performances from not just Clooney but also his onscreen daughters played by Woodley and Miller. The girls are wonderful to watch. One gets the feel of a family dynamic right away. They are very natural and I can see Woodley certainly becoming a sought after actress. She is brilliant as Clooney’s older daughter. She is made to grow up perhaps too fast. However, she likes it. She wants to look after her younger sister; she wants to be involved in finding her Mothers lover.
Matthew Lillard does not make the most of his performance however Judy Greer who plays his wife stands out. Greer has made the most of her time on screen and she displays a stand out performance. However, the question is whether this is an Oscar winning performance from Clooney? I’m not sure. He is excellent and believable. It’s really enjoyable to watch him as his relationship with his daughter’s builds and builds. This is one of his strongest performances without a doubt and he is a joy to watch but I cannot see him beating Jean Dujardin to the best actor award.
This is a comedy drama which for me reflects real life. This is what Payne does best. The Descendants works because it deals with happiness, tragedy, hope and reality. Payne doesn’t hit the same brilliance as Sideways however this is still a lovely and warm film.
Verdict;
4 out of 5.
My review has been retweeted by Fox Searchlight UK! :)
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