The Descendants (2011) Directed by Alexander Payne. Starring: Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller. IMDB says: “A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.“

The Descendants is one of those films that sneaks up on you. On paper, it doesn’t sound like anything too extraordinary, but on film, everything works together so seamlessly. The film has a wonderful sense of assurance that can only come from a director with expert craftsmanship. With enjoyable acting performances, a clever script and an ability to draw forth some very moving, emotional scenes, The Descendants hit me hard as one of my favorite films so far this year.


The movie centers around Matt King (Clooney), a man dealing with his wife in a coma, raising his two daughters and deciding what to do with a large piece of prime Hawaiian real estate that has been in his family for decades. Like I previously said, this sounds like it could turn out to be a drab piece of cinema. Fortunately, the film starts to weave a complicated thread of emotions from all these issues that makes the story interesting and engaging. We are painted a portrait that King is not a villain or a hero, but more so a terribly average guy, dealing with some unusually difficult hardships. I believe this is a film that will benefit from not giving away too many plot points because even the small details unfold beautifully in the film.


Joy, sadness, reflection and growth, The Descendants deals with it all so well. Clooney certainly gives one of my favorite performances this year and Shailene Woodley, who I am only familiar with from the awful show My Secret Life As An American Teenager, turns in a performance equally as talented. Elaborating on the film is just going to be me completely gushing, so if you’re interested in a film that’s full of laughs, cries, great characters and interesting stories, check out The Descendants in theaters while you can.


 
FTS SCORE:
92%

The Descendants is in theaters now.