In writer-director Alexander Payne’s (Sideways) newest hit film, Matt King (George Clooney) lives in a Hawaiian paradise, but his life feels more like hell on earth. His wife is comatose after a boating accident; his two daughters act out their frustration and fear with aggressive behavior; and his cousins look to him to sell the family land while island residents oppose it. Then things get even worse.
The Truth About His Wife
The action begins immediately in The Descendants. After retrieving Alexandra, his delinquent 17-year-old daughter (Shailene Woodley), from boarding school to visit her dying mother, Matt soon learns his wife was involved in a torrid love affair at the time of her accident. When the doctor tells him there’s no hope for her recovery and to take her off life support according to her wishes, Matt resigns himself to her death, but can’t get over her infidelity. Essentially he trades one crisis for another. Although they had drifted apart in recent years due to his heavy workload, he had no idea the marriage was in this much trouble.
For the rest of the movie, Matt works at building relationships with his daughters, despite previously being only “the backup parent.” He pesters friends to find out about his wife’s lover and enlists his teenaged daughter’s aid in stalking the fellow as he plans an eventual confrontation. He also juggles relationships with his younger 10-year-old daughter (Amara Miller) and Alexandra’s new and seemingly empty-headed boyfriend (Nick Krause). We can see Matt’s internal struggles with these issues, and his attempts to remain calm and rational even though his life’s foundation is crumbling to pieces.
The Descendants in the Film
As with other multi-layered meanings in this film, the descendants refers to the family left behind after a mother’s death, and the descendants on a much-broader scope: the inhabitants of Hawaii who will be affected by Matt’s decision regarding the land sale. Handed down from Hawaiian royalty, the pristine tropical beach in the islands is worth a fortune to the descendants in the King family. Matt is the sole trustee and needs to sign the papers for transforming the land into a resort. What Matt and his family choose to do with the land will affect all Hawaiians for many years to come.
Juggling these various problems simultaneously might prove to be too big a burden for many people to handle. Yet Matt draws upon his financial, emotional, and intellectual resources to deal with each crisis individually. Sometimes he loses his cool; sometimes he says the wrong thing; sometimes he acts impulsively. However, through it all, he’s totally human – struggling to do what he believes is right for himself, his family, and the inhabitants of Hawaii.
Humor Woven Throughout The Story
The beautiful scenery (shot by director of photography Phedon Papamichael [W.]) plays a significant role in the film, as land and ocean are integrated throughout the story. You might not expect a movie about a dying wife and mother to contain so much humor, but Clooney and the rest of the excellent cast (including Woodley and Judy Greer) help convey the full range of emotions in a believable and thoroughly enjoyable way from beginning to end. The old movie cliche, "You'll laugh, you'll cry" applies to this film.
The Descendants
- A man struggles to take care of his two daughters after his wife is mortally injured during a boating accident.
- Starring George Clooney, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Amara Miller, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Patricia Hastie, Michael Ontkean
- Director: Alexander Payne
- Writers: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash (screenplay); Kaui Hart Hemmings (novel)
- Genre: Comedy Drama
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Rating: R (for language including some sexual references)
- 5/5 Exceptional
- Additional Information: Visit the official website for The Descendants.
Leslie C. Halpern - Leslie C. Halpern, Romantic Films/Comedies Topic Editor, authored Passionate About Their Work, Reel Romance, & Dreams on Film.
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