The Descendants has already won rave reviews for George Clooney’s performance. Now firmly established as one of Hollywood’s reliable and bankable stars, his films are usually worth seeing. That he’s directed by Alexander Payne, who oversaw ‘About Schmidt’ and ‘Sideways’, is also a bonus. The Descendants’ story is one worthy of their talents as it delves into the realms of loss and change in a uniquely measured manner.
Living in Hawaii and enjoying its sunny climes, Matt (George Clooney) is loving life. Fate deals him a shocking hand when his wife falls into a coma after a boating accident. Dealing with this tragedy with his teenage daughters including Alex (Shailene Woodley), he thinks things cannot be worse. Unfortunately he discovers his wife was having an affair while also grappling with the decision to sell his family’s land. From an idyllic existence to one of trauma, Matt attempts to find ways to navigate safely from this personal maelstrom.
Exploring how a long absent father re-connects with his children The Descendants is continually engrossing. Due to perfect casting, great script and amazing cinematography, it shows how someone deals with their familial heritage. In stark contrast to the sunny locale in which he lives Matt’s various dark issues are confronted head-on as grief and rage against his comatose wife surface. These facets are blended in a beguiling mix of pathos and humour doing justice to the novel from which it is derived.
Making The Descendants engaging are the wonderfully drawn characters. It’s easy identifying with them as they tackle events in their own believable manner. None are portrayed in a stereotypical way and aren’t painted in broad black and white strokes. Each has foibles making them real people with the cast uniformly excellent. This is one of those films where you can tell the actors are very into their characters and provide a lot of heart in a consistently watch-able film.
Seven years after his last effort Alexander Payne delivers yet another stirring directorial endeavour. Hopefully The Descendants marks the beginning of a more frequent output as his gift in telling stories in a simple and effective way are much needed.
Movie Review Rating 9 / 10
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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