“THE DESCENDENTS”Based upon the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Screenplay Written by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Directed by Alexander Payne
**** (four stars)
There is a method to my cinematic madness, dear readers.
Sometimes when I go to the movies, especially during a period when there are more than enough titles to choose from, I go through a process during which I try to mentally determine which films may have a chance of staying in theaters longer than others, therefore creating a system where I can determine exactly which film to see next. As the movie theaters are currently flooded with must-see titles, I have been utilizing this process quite a bit. For instance, the latest installments in the “Sherlock Holmes” and “Mission: Impossible” series are both films that I am certain will be around for quite a bit as they are both making their fair share of box office loot, the latter having sat at the number 1 box office slot for the previous two weeks straight. However, a film like Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult,” for example, I reasoned would not have the same chances as those aforementioned mega-movies, so I saw that one right away. I think you can gather how I go through this process, as it is all but a guessing game. But sometimes, there will be a film that has strong critical acclaim that is also showing just a strong set of “legs,” and still I’ll leap frog over that title in favor of others. And usually, by the time I see that movie, the one with the critical acclaim and mysteriously long lasting box office staying power, I end up kicking myself for not having seen it sooner. This time, “The Descendants” is that very film.
Writer/Director Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants,” his first film in seven years (the brilliant middle age satire “Sideways” from 2004), not only shows him in full command of his cinematic powers, it is also his finest work to date. The film is an emotionally overwhelming experience, housed in a profound and elegiac sadness, and featuring the nuanced, unforced stellar acting work from the entire cast led by George Clooney, who also reaches new acting heights in what just may be his finest performance to date. “The Descendants” unfolds luxuriously, with exquisite pain, realism, surprising bolts of sharp humor all augmenting the rich tapestry of characters who reveal themselves beautifully throughout. For all of the acclaim this film has been receiving as of late, feel free to add my voice to that choir.
George Clooney stars as Matt King, a Hawaiian attorney and sole trustee of a long-standing family trust that controls 25,000 acres of pristine Hawaiian land. Due to a rule against perpetuities, plus the expiration of the family trust in seven years, the King family has decided to sell the land for future development, a decision that will go forward or not based entirely upon Matt’s final decision. Just as the details of this potential deal are reaching its climax, Matt is confronted with the devastating news that his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) has been injured and rendered comatose from a boating accident. This horrific incident forces the self-described parental “understudy” to become the primary caregiver of his two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and the belligerent, ferociously foul-mouthed 17-year-old Alex (Shailene Woodley).
As the threesome begin to cope with the family tragedy by making the rounds to extended family and friends, Matt learns that his wife, with whom he had been having troubling marital issues with before her accident, was not exactly the person he thought she was. The new realizations make Matt question their shared history, the future of their children’s precarious emotional states as well as how her final wishes and memory should be carried onwards.
I do not dare say more about this film (although a major plot point is revealed in the films trailers) because like I have said time and again, I would hope for you to experience “The Descendants” as freshly as possible. This is not a film about the element of surprise, however. It is a slice of life, that illustrates life as it is truly lived, with full, three dimensional characters who Payne allows to reveal themselves in surprising ways, which then enhances the heart of the story tremendously. Despite some of the actions and harshness of several of the film’s characters, it is a film without prefabricated villains, dishonest comedy or hyperbolic drama. And like several films I saw in 2011, from Mike Mills’ “Beginners,” Dan Rush’s “Everything Must Go,” Azazel Jacobs “Terri”, Jonathan Levine’s “50/50,” Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought A Zoo,” and the aforementioned “Young Adult,” Payne wisely allows his characters to exist and function as real human beings dealing with realistic situations without any semblance of plot driven contrivance. Because of that quality, the audience is fully able to walk within the shoes of the characters while also re-examining the decisions, trajectories, choices and consequences within our own lives.
From a purely visual level, I cannot recall if I have ever seen Hawaii look so relatively drab on screen before. I don’t offer this observation as a criticism, because I really think this was Payne’s stylistic choice in order to augment a major theme of the story. “The Descendants” is not a film that also functions as a virtual travelogue, like Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008) or “Midnight In Paris” (2010). I think what Alexander Payne has accomplished is presenting the reality of Hawaii over the romance of Hawaii as it is a place just like anywhere else in the world, where sadness and tragedy are no less sad or tragic because of the tropical locale. Payne is playing with our notion of what “paradise” actually is, be it a location, a desire or even a marriage. The look of the film is firmly intertwined within the murky and increasingly confused emotional state of Matt King, and essentially all of the film’s characters, as they are all existing through a devastating period, wondering how to re-assemble their broken pieces and move on, if at all. And thankfully, Payne offers no easy answers and refuses to wrap his film up in a tidy red bow.
“The Descendants” is a film of mourning and Payne offers no lip service to the actual grieving process as he shows the difficult layers of letting go, especially as a person’s grief is firmly attached to one’s perceptions of the person who is soon to depart this world. If one knew a certain truth about the nearly deceased, what responsibilities does the one with the knowledge have to the people that loved this treasured family member and friend? And to that end, what is “the truth” anyway? Even if a person’s actions didn’t live up to one’s perceptions, doe that make those perceptions any less truthful, the person any less beloved than they had been? Payne serves these questions so effortlessly, giving viewers something to fully ponder as they leave the theater. “The Descendants” is not a film to mindlessly watch and forget on the way home. Alexander Payne has designed a feature for us to fully interact with and become emotionally involved with and again, Payne earns our emotions by trusting his story and the actors who all serve as conduits.
When I saw Jason Reitman’s “Up In The Air” (2009), I had believed that was the film where George Clooney delivered the very best of his acting skills. With “The Descendants,” I feel that he has topped himself. As Matt King, Clooney has now eschewed all aspects of his effortless cool and firmly exists as a beleaguered 50-something finding himself at an unforeseen crossroads in his life. I have not witnessed this level of emotional nakedness from him before and he moved me supremely, finding the soul in a faceless character enduring the types of painful decisions so many of us have faced or will face. His performance, as well as the story as whole, reminded me very much of Writer/Director James C. Strouse’s lovely “Grace Is Gone" (2007), which starred John Cusack agonizingly trying to tell his two daughters that their Mother, a solider, was killed in Iraq. Where that film existed as more of an elegant short story, Clooney’s work in “The Descendants,” much like the film as a whole, carries the full weight of the very best novels. It is a remarkable performance handled without flash, or self-serving acclaim. George Clooney should definitely be remembered at Oscar time for this work.
I must give special mention to the great Beau Bridges, who delivers his standard excellent work as one of Matt’s cousins and I loved seeing the wonderful supporting actress Judy Greer shine so brightly as well. I would love it if her work was remembered at Oscar time as well.
The surprise beyond surprises for me was Shailene Woodley, who currently stars in the unintentionally hysterical teen drama series, “The Secret Life Of The American Teenager,” a program noted for its (almost across the board wooden, “high school play” acting performances, which does include Woodley herself. For “The Descendants,” Woodley supremely raises her game and firmly holds her own as she often goes toe-to-toe with Clooney or serves as his co-conspirator, mentor, emotional guide and parental tormentor. There have been more than a few stories proclaiming that Woodley just may be Oscar ready with this performance. I’m not ready to go that far but she excels in this role. I recently read that Woodley is contracted for two more seasons on her television show. While a job is indeed a job in the acting world, I am certain that after grabbing this part with both hands so tightly, she is more than anxious to stretch her acting wings even further. And I am actually now very curious to see what else she can do.
You know, seeing “The Descendants” after all of these weeks and weeks since its release has made me feel as if everyone else had been carrying a great secret long before me. Well, when films of this high quality arrive, it behooves me to inform you and urge you to try it out for yourselves.
For me, “The Descendants” has earned a place as one of my favorite films of 2011.
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