THE DESCENDANTS (2011)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Clooney plays Matt King, a Honolulu attorney who is facing numerous complications. His wife was in a boating accident and is now in a coma. In addition, there is a rhapsodic piece of real estate in Kauai (25,000 acres worth) that can be sold to the highest corporate bidder which would please his cousins, or he can keep it preserved which wouldn't please them. Matt also has two daughters to deal with; Scottie (Amara Miller) who is the precocious younger daughter, and the other is troublesome Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) who is staying at a boarding school on another island. Matt also has a father-in-law (Robert Forster) who has his own way of handling his daughter's coma state. And there is a revelation about Matt's wife that I will leave for viewers to discover since it informs the rest of the film.
"The Descendants" is based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, and it has been adapted with utmost care and simplicity by director Alexander Payne and co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. They have taken token made-for-TV material (or what could have been in the wrong hands) and enhanced it with deeply rooted emotions in its characters. What makes the film sing is that it refuses to bow down to sentimentality or facile feelings that could come off as forced. Director Payne knows how to wield this material with the cocksure mentality of a director who understands the human heart all too well (his previous films "Sideways" and "About Schmidt" proved it).
He also shows segments of Hawaii that rarely get shown on film or television - more arid suburban areas that do not look like the blitzed out, sunlit, heavenly, picture postcard look of "Hawaii-Five-O." The houses and the streets look lived-in and virtually anonymous from any other street in the USA (excepting the other islands that have resorts though they are always overcast).
George Clooney is something of a miracle in movies - an actor whom I did not care for on television has risen to give some extraordinary performances on film. Whether appearing in escapist fare ("Ocean's" flicks, "Out of Sight") or weighty dramas ("Syriana" or the underwhelming "Up in the Air"), he excels at making us believe in his characters. I would call it invisible acting because it is hard to catch Clooney acting - he inhabits his characters fully. You can tell in one of many scenes when he runs to a neighbor's house for a confrontation - it is his wobbly way of running that defines the character.
Another miracle is Amara Miller and especially Shailene Woodley as Matt's daughters - two girls who can see Matt's pain and know the truth about their mother. Woodley stands out as a no-nonsense, confrontational and rebellious daughter who takes a liking to likable doofus, Sid (Nick Krause). Eventually parent and daughter learn to help each other through a difficult time in ways that prove to be unpredictable and heartwrenching. Added to the range of emotions are stellar and full-bodied characters in supporting roles played by Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer and the fabulous Beau Bridges. They add layers to this offbeat Hawaiian family drama.
What is really invigorating and brilliant about "The Descendants" is that it treats a family breakdown with complete honesty and never judges its characters. That is Alexander Payne's strength - letting us care about people who are fallible and who acknowledge their mistakes. I can't imagine a richer, juicier, sophisticated and more complex American family portrait in the 2010 era than "The Descendants."
