The Descendants (2011)

The Descendants is about some of the descendants of Princes Margret Kaʻiulani of Hawaii and her Caucasian husband Edward King. Now these two may actually be real historical figures, though I have not been able to verify that, I do however know that a King family in Hawaii are famous for there sweet rolls. The Kings in this film are fictional characters, though very well realized ones. Matt King (George Clooney) is for all intents and purposes head of the large King clan, owing to his late fathers having made him the head of their family trust, which controls 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kaua'i. A change in local law relating to the rule against perpetuities necessitates the King family selling that land within seven years. While Matt King is self sufficient in his practice as a real estate attorney, other members of his extended family are hot to get a share of the money that would come from selling the land to comercial developers. Matt as sole trustee has the final say as to what the family will do with the land, but has agreed to abide by the majority vote of the family, which is to be held within a couple weeks of the start of the movie. Matt King however has other things on his mind.

Mrs. Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie) had been a racing boat accident roughly a month before and sense that time has been in a coma on life support in a local hospital, leaving Matt to care for there ten year old daughter Scottie (Amara Miller), something which the workaholic Matt has not really done since she was three. At a meeting with Elizabeth's doctor Matt is informed that there is nothing left they can do for her and that she will never come out of the coma, and according to her living will they are required to take her off life support in the very near future. Wanting to bring his family together to say there good byes Matt and Scottie travel to a neighbouring island to pick up his other daughter, 17 year old Alex (Shailene Woodley) from the boarding school she has been attending. Alex is the first person Matt tells that Elizabeth is going to die, and he is dismayed at his daughters negative attitude towards her mother continuing in this time of family crises. Matt tells Alex that whatever she and her mother had been fighting about over Christmas isn't important and needs to be let go, it is then that Alex informs her father that what she had been arguing with her mother about was the fact that she had discovered that Elizabeth was cheating on him. This needless to say knocks Matt for a loop.

Matt confronts some friends of the family with this information and it is soon confirmed, he even learns the name of the man Elizabeth was seeing (Brian Speer played by Matthew Lillard) and that she planed and divorcing Matt for him. Matt now must deal with this new information while at the same time tending to his business and family responsibilities and letting all the people who loved Elizabeth know that she is going to die so that they will have a chance to say there goodbyes. But does this mean he should tell Brian Spear? Matt. his daughters, and Alex's spaced-out kind of boyfriend Sid (Nick Krause, note perfect) set out to tell family (including Elizabeth's Matt-hating father Robert Forster) and friends of the impending death, as well as search for Brian Spear who Matt conflictingly feels he must tell about Elizabeth.

Director Alexander Payne's return to directors chair for the first time since Sideways in 2004, this is by far the autors most mature work. It has less of the awkward, juvenile comedy of his previous films, and the characters, even the children, act a lot more adult. This is similar territory to About Schmidt, but its remarkably not played for irony. This is an earnest, good hearted film about coping, conflicted relationships, and trying to sort out what really matters. Clooney gives another Oscar caliber performance, and Shaliene Woodley is quite good, as are a number of the side characters. This is an effecting work, enhances but an a-typical setting, and one of the better main stream movies to come out in the last couple of years. I found The Descendants to be a quite, fulfilling work, with a good deal of both pathos and humor. ****