"The Descendents"
George Clooney's days of E.R. and Batman and Robin are long gone. Clooney has proven that he is competent both in front of and behind the camera. For his latest feature The Descendents, Clooney let's Alexander Payne take the wheel while he does his thing in front of the lens. You may remember Payne's other works, Election, About Schimdt, and Sideways as all having solid performances and screenplays. The Descendents is no exception.
Real estate attorney Matt King (Clooney) lives in Hawaii but it is currently hardly anything but paradise for him. His wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) recently suffered an injury to the head from a horrible boating accident leaving her in a coma that she is now not going to wake from. Honoring his wife's wishes as stated in her will, Matt will pull plug. Elizabeth leaves Matt to raise their two daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alex (Shailene Woodley.) Alex, the older and bad apple of the two, was originally sent away to a school that was supposed to deal with her misbehavior. Matt then pulls her out so that she can help with Scottie's upbringing in setting a good (cough) example. Matt also wants Alex to accompany him as he goes around alerting other family members and friends about Elizabeth's condition. Alex breaks the news to her father that she caught her mother cheating on him. Matt now has this to deal with too. Oh yeah, him and his cousins are also in the middle of trying to figure out who to sell a huge piece of family owned property to. Phew! This guy has a lot on his plate.
The screenplay is rock solid. It deals with multiple, heavy situations seemingly with ease. Matt is struggling to cope with so many things and a lot of questions that need answering. How is he going to raise his two kids? How does he confront his wife about the man she has apparently been seeing but who's now in a coma and going to die? Is it really a good idea to sell chunk of historical Hawaiian land that's been untouched for decades? These are all very realistic questions that are dealt with in such a poignant manner. Themes of love, loss, reconnecting, responsibility, and family are all in full force here.
Clooney and Woodley make out to be a believable father and daughter duo. Their dynamic is interesting to watch as the two of them butt heads on a number of issues. Watching them go on this fantastic journey together and eventually coming to terms with everything that has happened over the course of a week is quite moving. Woodley's performance comes off as so natural and unrehearsed. She is able to hold her ground in the scenes with Clooney quite well. Clooney conveys so many emotions without ever going out of control or over the top. Considering how much stuff his character has to deal with he shows a great deal of restraint at times in expressing subtle but powerful feelings.
Alexander Payne is one of those directors whose choices you don't really notice until hours or maybe even days after watching the film. His decisions appear so effortless but really they’re quite complex. There's nothing fancy about them but all the little things he does makes all the difference. Strong character development and well paced scenes are the foundation of this film. The Descendents hits a number of good beats as the feature runs its course just in time for the Oscars. When life throws you a curve ball, or two, or three how do you deal with it? You deal with it as a family.
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