The Descendants Review

Alexander Payne’s previous films ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002) and SIDEWAYS (2004) have observed lives that reflect our own, whether he’s rightfully explored the flaws or celebrated the best of humanity, there is always heart behind the charades, however presented. In THE DESCENDANTS, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, Payne takes this aforementioned design and thoroughly impresses with outstanding contributions from everyone involved.

George Clooney leads the way as the affluent Matt King, a lawyer and landowner in Hawaii. He has inherited land through his descendants and is the sole trustee for his extended family of cousins and needs to make the final decision on what to do with it all.

This sounds like the beginnings of paradise and perfection but as the opening sequence portrays just a single shot of his wife on a boat and then cuts to black and a voice-over, you instantly feel an impending change of mood in reflection to her carefree expression.  As the voice of King filters through, he dismisses this so-called nirvana as just like anywhere else in the world, pointedly and purposefully focusing on the fact that Hawaii still suffers from cancer, poverty and the day-to-date problems we all suffer.

We then learn that Matt’s wife, Elizabeth, had a boating accident and is in a coma. Before he knows it, he’s in charge of his two young daughters. Scotty (Amara Miller) is 10 and there’s slightly estranged 17-year old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) who he collects from the boarding school she’s been enlisted into.

There’s even one more thing, and I promise this doesn’t give anything away, his oldest daughter Alex tells him that she was having an affair. What this does is completely throw Matt into further internal turmoil. Whilst not being the most attentive of a father or husband, he’s trapped with a combination of guilt, anger, love and the unknown. Clooney excels in the role and in this circumstance, merging between a clowning run in sandals down the road to seek out the man his wife was seeing, right up to the heart-breaking one-way conversations with Elizabeth in her state of comatose.

There are a few edges of possible cliché in the narrative but it doesn’t affect the overall picture. Matthew Lillard returns to the big screen in a mature role and the understated Judy Greer, with both actors shining in the natural progression of the storyline. There are also notable mentions for newcomer Nick Krause, a surfer kid who tells it like it is and Robert Forster as the father of Elizabeth, struggling to come to terms with the situation.

Clooney is flawless as Matt King, keeping the film on track with one of the best performances of his career to date. Even through the chaos, you fully invest in the characters’ dysfunctional lives. Bittersweet and genuine, THE DESCENDANTS is a beautiful piece of cinema, a wonderful addition to Payne’s collection of work and an absolute must see.

THE DESCENDANTS is out in UK cinemas this Friday 27th January, 2012.