The Descendants

Written and directed by Alexander Payne of ‘Sideways’, ‘The Descendants’ was winner of both the Best Motion Picture – and George Clooney for Best Actor playing a descendant of Hawaiian royalty – at the recent Golden Globes awards…

Written and directed by Alexander Payne of ‘Sideways’, ‘The Descendants’ was winner of both the Best Motion Picture – and George Clooney for Best Actor – at the recent Golden Globes awards.

Set in beautiful Hawaii and based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants is a drama comedy centered around the life and trials of Matt King (George Clooney), a descendant of Hawaiian royalty and sole trustee to 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kaua’i.

After his free-spirited wife suffers a head injury and falls into a coma following a boating accident off Waikiki, Matt is forced to take up the role of head-parent to his two girls in which he appears to feel rather unequipped.

But this is not your average soppy film about family bonding and overcoming heartache. Yes, a few tears are shed and hugs dispensed, but there is a certain humour and camaraderie between Alex and his girls that makes this film really quite agreeable. Not least when they go in search of the man with whom his wife has been having an affair.

Written and directed by Alexander Payne, creator of the Oscar-winning film ‘Sideways’ (which I personally found to be a dismal watch and a waste of two hours of my life), this film is in fact very satisfying.

I was dreading yet another film pitching a tenuous relationship between a stroppy teen and her over-indulgent, weak-willed parent but was instead mesmerized by Shailene Woodley’s mature portrayal of Alex King, Matt’s 17 year old daughter.

Sure, Matt and Alex hardly have the perfect father/daughter relationship but Alex’s matter-of-fact approach towards both her Dad and their circumstances left me cringe-free. I’m pleased to say that there was hardly an unnecessary tantrum in sight. In fact her performance has already earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Well deserved, I say.

I suppose the gist of the story was that life on a so-called ‘paradise’ such as Hawaii can be just as trying as it is anywhere else, though it was rather hard to feel sorry for the King family with their gorgeous home, private schooling, seafood-laden tables, and hours spent lounging around on the golden sand beaches. Never mind the lull of the soundtrack laced with quintessential Hawaiian guitar. Don’t get me wrong – this is all for our viewing pleasure. It’s just that trying to find a way to relate to (and therefore empathize with) the Kings might be a stretch.

As for George Clooney, well he wasn’t too bad actually. If you liked him in Up in the Air then you’ll probably like him in this too. You know what you’re getting with Clooney, don’t you, so I found him easy enough to watch. No surprises here.

As someone who likes to describe the tone of a film by likening it to another one, I would associate The Descendants with Steve Carell’s Dan in Real Life for both its plot and its pace, and would recommend seeing The Descendants as part of a lazy Sunday afternoon.

By Jasmine Pearson 21 January 2012