Starring George Clooney, Alexander Payne returns to the big screen with The Descendants. A film that recently won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Actor, does it deserve the critical kudos?
A clear front-runner in this year’s Oscar race is Alexander Payne’s wonderfully breezy The Descendants – a film about closure and accepting paternal responsibility, a film that delivers a genuine cathartic lift. The talented cast is headed by the wrinkled, but still charming, George Clooney, who carries his complicated role gracefully, as the film offers a healthy and welcome balance of tragedy and comedy. Featuring a multitude of plot trajectories, the script is nonetheless tight; delivering a film that has a cool and relaxed tone that’s loyal to its Hawaiian setting. Sure, some of the events that transpire are skewed towards a more mature audience; but the comedy and overall charm nevertheless translate well for a wider age spectrum.
The Descendants opens with a disclaimer: even if the film is set in idyllic Hawaii; it won’t be filmed in sepia, as family dramas are as potent here as anywhere else and tragedy is still tragedy, irrespective of geography. Matt King (Clooney) has a major decision to make: as the sole trustee of a coveted 25,000 acre plot on the rural island of Kauai, other members of the trust are pressuring him to sell big – making way for a billion-dollar resort and cashing in on strategic land investments made by his Hawaiian ancestors. As in 2008’s Summer Hours, the extent of legacy and property is challenged, but this time in an American backyard.
Making things more complicated, King’s adventure-seeking wife, Elizabeth, finds herself in a coma after a boating accident. Her silence reveals a multitude of complications: King’s adolescent daughter, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), is caught looking for trouble, while his younger daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller), emphasizes his insecurity as a parent. It’s not long before certain revelations transpire that cause further emotional confusion in an already challenging situation.
Indeed, the plot narrative leans dangerously close to melodrama – but Payne expertly directs it away from that. The Descendants is written and directed with much confidence, unraveling in a cool succession that never goes heavy; tragedy is always counterbalanced by comedy, preventing the audience from wallowing in heartbreak, but never diluting the emotional gravity of a scene. Much of the comedy comes from surfer lingo and Hawaii’s relaxed beach attitude, a refreshing contrast to heavy dramatic arcs.
Matt King, sporting Hawaiian shirts and sandals, is actually a very complicated character, and Clooney portrays him effortlessly. In a role that accentuates his midlife spread, Clooney is stripped of his red carpet debonair swagger but still has enough charisma to magnetize an audience. King is an idealized character; relentlessly taking the high road to an extent that sometimes challenges common sense – but Clooney handles it convincingly and with candor, so that audiences will end up thinking they’d probably do the same thing.
The Descendants is free from redundant characters, with every supporting role in this ensemble getting a chance to shine. Woodley as a troubled teenager is convincing and empathetic; Nick Krause, as Sid, Alexandra’s tag-along boyfriend, who’s initially portrayed as a side-show comedian, later reveals himself to be a powerful emotional anchor; and even minor characters, headed by Beau Bridges as a persuasive cousin, have so much purpose that it’s hard to see how anyone could be left on the cutting room floor.
For a film that begins with a coma, The Descendants is really about waking up from one. Payne has directed a film about accepting responsibility – as a father and for one’s heritage, without being patronizing or preachy. Clooney proves himself again as a brilliant actor, expertly hovering between the boundaries of everyman and the ideal – a perfect choice in depicting a character like Mike King, whose down-to-earth clothing disguises his symbolic function for ‘old money’. Indeed, The Descendants is a buoyant film, about a King who has finally embraced his castle.
4 1/2 Stars
Reynald Castaneda