THE DESCENDANTS

DIRECTOR: Alexander Payne

CAST: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard and Robert Forster

CLASSIFICATION: 13 L

RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes

RATING: ****

Unaffected performances and an exotic location that is still familiar come together to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts in The Descendants.

Based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’s acclaimed debut novel, the film shows a man who may be surrounded by some of the most beau- tifully tranquil landscapes in the world, but his life does not reflect it.

This gentle, warm portrait of a man who comes to a new awareness of himself as a father, and gains an understanding of the people around him, is serious and funny, but never mocks its characters.

Hawaii is painted as a paradise of large, airy homes, verdant gardens and friendly, laid-back people. Against this gorgeous, yet very realistically shot backdrop, workaholic Matt King (Clooney) has to reconnect with his impish daughters when their mother is involved in a serious boating accident. He has to deal with his wife’s apparent infidelity, a land issue on behalf of his family looms large and two children he knows very little about demand his attention as a parent.

King takes his children from the island of Oahu to Kauai, ostensibly to show them where they come from, but really to confront the man his wife has been seeing.

The two daughters are engaging in their un-cute responses to what is essentially a life-changing experience pregnant with the potential for hysterics.

Alex (Woodley) has a difficult relationship with her mother, even though they are so alike – or perhaps because of it – while the younger Scottie (Amara Miller) is an intense little thing who spends too much time in her own mind.

It’s Clooney’s portrayal of an Everyman that is gaining Oscar attention, though, because this role isn’t predicated on his good looks, but his ability to be believably confused, hurt, embarrassed, angry, lonely and sad all at once. King is never so self-important that he can’t appreciate what he has and the key word here is “understated”.

While his life becomes chaotic and he tries to figure out what his relationship is towards the land he holds in trust, it is when King starts to mend his relationship with his daughters that he finally figures out just exactly who he is and how he fits into his personal landscape.

Things don’t go quite as planned, and while there are unpredictable funny moments, director Alexander Payne (Sideways) has steered clear of overplaying the potential for comical and instead just concentrated on the messiness that is life. Here awkward moments don’t have to lead to a laugh-out- loud situation, they are simply allowed to be and therein lies the bitter-sweet joy of the story.

If you liked… Sideways or About Schmidt… you will like this.

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