3 ½ stars (out of four)
After a speedboat accident leaves his wife in a coma, Matt
King is left to parent his two daughters, the ten-year-old handful Scottie
(Amara Miller) and seventeen-year-old troublemaker Alex (Shailene Woodley).
Matt has little idea what to feed the two girls let alone guide them through such
a difficult time. Scottie is at the impressionable age when passing phases are
difficult to distinguish from issues that may one day require therapy and Matt
looks desperately to his eldest daughter for help. She is no more stable but
claims she will be considerably calmer with close friend Sid (Nick Krause)
around. Sid is a surfer dude dunce whose one-note – “Sup, bro?” – personality
proves inappropriate more than once as he accompanies the family on hospital
visits and a trip to the home of Matt’s father-in-law (Robert Forster).
On the other side of Matt’s family is a host of cousins and
extended family members who are on the verge of making a major decision. The
Kings, descendants of Hawaiian royalty, own one of the last undeveloped patches
of land on the islands and are looking to sell the property before the trust
dissolves in seven years. The family has whittled the prospective buyers
(mostly developers interested in constructing hotels and shopping centers) down
to one, Don Hollitzer (unseen in the film) but as the deed’s trustee, Matt
ultimately gets final say. The decision weighs heavily on him as his cousins,
led by Hugh (Beau Bridges), pester him for an answer.
All of this would be enough for Matt to grapple with but the
film throws one more problem his way. His wife was cheating on him, he learns,
a revelation that spurs an inter-island investigation into her suitor’s
identity that takes up most of the film’s midsection.
Mr. Payne seems attracted to stories of men reaching a
turning point in their lives (Paul Giamatti in Sideways, Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt and, to a lesser degree, Matthew Broderick in Election) and paints an empathetic portrait of Matt at this
particular mid-life moment. Clooney is a wise choice for the role; he finds the
vulnerability of Matt while still bringing to the character the charm that
comes with being George Clooney. His ability to lead an audience through the
array of emotional turns a film like The Descendants takes is one of his strongest assets as an actor. He
shifts between moments of human comedy and more somber scenes with ease,
building an authentic character along the way.
Those who have seen Mr. Payne’s previous works will be
familiar with the way humor, tragedy and righteous anger mix and blur into one
another here. This particular blend works because the film has a keen
understanding of human interaction – the way we fumble over verb tense when
talking about a deceased or dying person, or what personal information we
choose to give out to our various levels of acquaintances. Even as the plot
progresses in carefully controlled and even predictable ways, the details of
the script (penned by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, as well as Mr. Payne) and nuances
of the performances ring true.
There are also a number of gorgeously framed shots – and not
just of those scenic shorelines which are, of course, captured in all their
splendor – that bring to life the emotional world of these characters.
Everything comes together in the final scenes, a series of pitch-perfect
moments between family that brings the film to a touching and poignant finish.
If the film perhaps grazes over serious subject matters with a decidedly light
touch, it also does not cheat. Matt’s complicated situation is acknowledged as
such and the characters, in the somewhat limited sketches of their personalities,
act honestly and believably. The film does not strike a false or cheap note.
The Descendants is a
crowd-pleaser in the best of ways. It presents us with a collection of likable
characters whose troubles are given humor without sacrificing honesty. Hawaii
may not be paradise but is as gorgeous and charming a place as any to sort out
your problems.
- Steve Avigliano, 12/7/11
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