The Descendants (2011)

A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.

Director:

Alexander Payne

Writers:

Alexander Payne (screenplay), Nat Faxon (screenplay),

Stars:

George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller

Won 1 Oscar. Another 51 wins & 82 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Matt King
Shailene Woodley	...	Alexandra King
Amara Miller	...	Scottie King
Nick Krause	...	Sid
Patricia Hastie	...	Elizabeth King
Grace A. Cruz	...	Scottie's Teacher
Kim Gennaula	...	School Counselor
Karen Kuioka Hironaga	...	Barb Higgins
Carmen Kaichi	...	Lani Higgins
Kaui Hart Hemmings	...	Matt's Secretary Noe
Beau Bridges	...	Cousin Hugh
Matt Corboy	...	Cousin Ralph
Matt Esecson	...	Cousin Hal
Michael Ontkean	...	Cousin Milo
Stanton Johnston	...	Cousin Stan

Storyline

With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the man who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

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Plot Keywords:

daughters | boating accident | affair | coma | lawyer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los descendientes

Filming Locations:

Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,345,720 (USA) (18 November 2011)

Gross:

$82,624,961 (USA) (27 April 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Ad Hominem Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the King family are at Lihue airport in Kauai, 'Matt King' tells his cousin that it's "just a little holoholo." In the Hawaiian language, "holoholo" means "to go out," usually for a leisurely drive or other vehicular excursion. In the next sequence as the family rides in the cousin's jeep, lyrics in the musical cue include the phrase "holoholo ka'a," which means "going for a ride in a car."

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Goofs

On the plane to the island to meet Brian Speer, Cousin Hugh is clearly seen seated in the row directly behind the actors.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Matt King: My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation. We're all just out here sipping Mai Tais, shaking our hips, and catching waves. Are they insane?

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.22 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Ka Makani Ka'ili Aloha"
Written by Matthew Kane
Arranged and Performed by Gabby Pahinui
Courtesy of Panini Records

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: The Descendants

Newly minted Best Picture (Drama) at this year's Golden Globes, along with George Clooney being awarded the Best Actor (Drama) award, The Descendants is Alexander Payne's latest film since Sideways, based upon the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Dealing with the central character of Matt King (Clooney) as the trustee of his extended family's trust of thousands of acres of untouched land on the island of Kaua'i, Hawaii, Clooney puts in a commanding performance that deals with one man's plight on many fronts, from his children, his wife, his relatives and having to make tough decisions that will affect the lives of his kindred.

As with Payne's films, the challenges that stand in the protagonist's way are what make the film highly engaging, and Clooney drops his film star demeanour to play the everyday man who faces issues that aren't too far fetched, discovering that his now comatose wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) has been cheating on him, and trying to reconnect with estranged daughter Alex (Shailene Woodley) and 10 year old Scottie (Amara Miller) since he's a dad who's seldom at home and seen. And as if matters of the family cannot get anymore complicated, here comes the extended family of cousins and just about everyone related to the King real estate who have to decide, ultimately by Matt himself, how to best sell off their inherited land in order to maximize their profits, with a deadline to boot.

With the multiple narrative threads dealing at a microscopic emotional level - trying hard to come to terms with a cheating spouse where you know you've drawn the shortest possible end of the stick given the state of the other half, and having a teenage daughter who doesn't quite understand you, they provide that grounding to make it easy to identify with Matt King the man who's really quite down on his luck on family matters. The plot threads expand to his near obsession to want to discover with whom his wife has been cheating with, and to bear the brunt of an incessantly sarcastic father-in-law who doesn't take her daughter's comatose state all too kindly.

But it's not all doom, gloom and filled with negative emotions here, as the film does have its fair share of lighter moments courtesy of characters like Alexandra's insensitive loud mouthed friend Sid (Nick Krause) who comes along for the road trip of sorts, though almost always punctuated with that tinge of inevitable sadness in the air. Moments of poetic justice also makes you want to whoop for joy, although you tend to weigh in on these moments and make you think - would you want to maximize benefits for those in your family, or for selfish reasons choose not to remotely reward someone who had done you a great wrong. Such is the tussle and wrangle Matt has to deal with, and makes The Descendants one really topsy- turvy emotional ride, which on one hand one wants to appear magnanimous, while on the other having to suppress the urge to just punch out.

And Clooney deserves his award for making Matt King so believable, junking his glamorous self for something far more affable at first, before the problems start to pile, each with a deadline of its own, and wondering when he would crack under undue pressure, emotionally and physically. Sharing perfect daughter-father relationship chemistry with Clooney is Shailene Woodley who in my opinion is an up and coming young actress to look out for, showcasing a wide range of emotions here, and a scene which I thought brought out her best when her character got broken the news of her mom's condition.

Alexander Payne crafts a meaningful, dramatic film that questions whether we should let the truth be always told, or to allow whatever the version it is in to pass, and to seek to forgive others even when we're wronged. And he deftly handles once again a protagonist who is put in a dilemma with monumental tasks to tackle, although you know they'd somehow converge together toward the end given the web of relationships that exists. Primed to be a firm contender for Best Picture come Oscar season soon, I'm quite certain this is a winner in its own way and doesn't need a golden statue to reaffirm that. Highly recommended!