You need to know this from the start – there are no negatives when it comes to The Descendants. The movie is a nearly perfect package. Yes, this is George Clooney’s greatest role (more on that later), but the other key pieces – supporting actors, writing, directing, cinematography, and music – all fit together like a customized glove to make writer/director Alexander Payne’s drama/comedy about a workaholic father’s attempt to bond with his two daughters after his wife’s serious boating accident one of the best movies of the year.
As a lawyer and chief overseer of the trust, Matt’s managed to neglect his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Haste) over the years, as well as his two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). But after Elizabeth’s thrill-seeking boating accident puts her in a coma, Matt realizes he has to take the reins as chief parent, something he’s admittedly unprepared for. When he learns that Elizabeth will never emerge from the coma, Matt has to break the news to his daughters, so he pulls the troubled Scottie from elementary school and eventually takes her with him to get Alexandra from boarding school. As if all of this weren’t enough for one man to handle, Matt quickly learns from Alexandra that Elizabeth was cheating on him and planning to divorce him.
It’s at this point where The Descendants truly separates itself from the pack. Instead of heading down the path of sappy melodrama set in beautiful Hawaii, Alexander Payne achieves a perfect balance of heartbreak and laughter as Matt, Scottie, and Alexandra guide each other through the most difficult time of their lives. Woodley is nothing short of sensational as Alexandra, a venomous teen flirting with alcoholism who rises above her absent-parent issues to achieve maturity beyond her seventeen years. The same goes for young Amara Miller, who plays Scottie with the exact range of emotions you would expect to see in a 10-year-old girl facing the loss of her mother. The acting lauds just go on from there. Robert Forster hits a homerun as Scott Thorson, Elizabeth’s macho, tough-guy father who seems to blame Matt for the boating accident. That’s the thing about The Descendants. Every actor shines. You connect with every character and feel what they feel.
But in the end The Descendants is Clooney’s movie, and he deserves every bit of praise he receives for the role of Matt King. Never before has he shown such a range of realistic emotions in a character. There’s a scene early in the film where Matt meets with the doctor who informs him that Elizabeth will never awaken from her coma and Clooney doesn’t speak a word of dialogue as he stands and takes what feels like at least a one-minute walk from the meeting room to Elizabeth’s private room. It’s a difficult scene to watch, and the absence of dialog makes it that much more realistic. Matt’s face, eyes, and body language clearly convey the silent agony he’s experiencing. Clooney guides you through the entire film this way, providing the subtle cues that let you know when it’s okay to laugh and okay to cry. Matt King is a hardworking dad trying desperately to do the right things for his two daughters. Acting this good reminds you of why we love going to the movies.
George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in The Descendants.
© 2011 – Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Payne and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael excel in other areas as well. They don’t glamorize Hawaii. Rather, they show the real Hawaii. Yes, it’s a beautiful state, but native Hawaiians have long been engaged in a struggle to achieve a balance between nativism and tourist-friendly capitalism. The soundtrack reinforces this viewpoint, offering a variety of traditional and modern Hawaiian music that adds to the realism of the story.
Ultimately, you should see The Descendants because it works on all levels. The acting and the story are unforgettable. Heck, it even has a happy ending. What more could you want?
