Photo courtesey of Fox Searchlight Productions
Paradise. When people think of a response to this word they usually think of Hawaii. They also think of carefree lives with no troubles at all. Unfortunately in the movie The Descendants, the King family do not have carefree lives and face plenty of troubling issues that could break the family apart. This edition of Jacob Reviews is dedicated to reviewing this novel turned movie.
The main character in this film is Matt King (played brilliantly by Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney). King is multitasking a lot of priorities including watching over his comatose wife after she had a fatal boating accident, two rebellious daughters and the trustee of his family’s trust that is on the verge of selling their ancestral land in Hawaii. Movie viewers can see from the start of the movie that King’s immediate family is still in shambles and King is trying to hold his family together.
But it has become extremely difficult for him especially after hearing that his wife will not recover and her will stated that she wanted to be taken off life support and die. King has to tell his daughters and their family and friends. The first person he tells is his daughter Alexandra. Alexandra (played brilliantly by The Secret Life of the American Teenager’s Shailene Woodley) has problems with drugs, alcohol and trouble making. Alexandra does not take the news very well and she sobs in the pool. She also tells her father about a very dark secret: his wife had an affair with another man.
After confronting family friends and learning the truth, King antagonizes his comatose wife for not telling him and before he lets his daughters see their mother, he asks: “Did you love him?” After the girls see their mother and a heated confrontation between his father-in-law (Robert Forster), Alexandra finds the contact information of the man who his wife cheated on: Brian Speer (played by Matthew Lillard). King, his daughters and Alexandra’s friend Sid (Nick Krause) begin their adventure to track the man down and find something unexpected.
This dramedy was incredible because of its’ outstanding writing and impeccable performances by Clooney and Woodley. Another reason why The Descendants is an incredible film was the cinematography. To capture the beauty and grace of Hawaii along with the film’s cast was a huge monumental task but Phedon Papamichael pulled it off. Finally, the film’s soundtrack heavily incorporated Hawaiian music that brought out the Aloha State fully into the film.
Final Thoughts and Grade: This film was a pleasure to watch from start to finish. It really sent a powerful message about dysfunctional families, betrayal and infidelity. This author has a feeling that The Descendants could get some award buzz later this year. A
Warning to moviegoers: this movie is waaayyy more sad than it is funny. Clooney is great, and the teenagers are funny, especially Sid, but don’t go expecting a pick-me-up.