The Descendants (2011)

A land baron tries to reconnect 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 65 wins & 146 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

Matt King's family has lived in Hawaii for generations. His extended family - namely he and his many cousins - own 25,000 acres of undeveloped land on Kauai held in trust, which ends in seven years. The easiest thing for the family to do is sell the land before the seven years is up, which is all the talk in the state, as, to whom they sell the property could very well change the face of Kauai. Despite the vast wealth that comes with the land, Matt has decided to live solely on what he earns as a Honolulu lawyer. However, Matt has not had a perfect life living in Hawaiian paradise as many believe. He and his wife Elizabeth were having problems in their marriage. She recently got into a boating accident which has placed her in a coma. Their seventeen year old daughter Alex is in boarding school on the big island since they couldn't handle her rebellion, which was made all the worse by an argument of an unknown nature between mother and daughter during Alex's last visit home. And their ...

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Plot Keywords:

father daughter relationship | boating accident | hawaii | cheating wife | dying mother | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the King family are at Lihue airport in Kauai, Matt tells his cousin it's "just a little holoholo." In Hawaiian, "holoholo" means "to go out," usually for a leisurely drive. In the next scene, 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

The door next to Elizabeth's room is almost closed after Alex comes out. When Alex goes back into the room with Scottie, the door is more open and a blue dispenser bottle is next to a small white hand towel.

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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

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.17 (2011)

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Soundtracks

In Ya System
Written by Don Kawaauhau, Shane Veincent, and Caleb Richards
Performed by Sudden Rush
Courtesy of Sudden Rush LLC
By arrangement with Robert Sterling Music New York

User Reviews

A movie that you do NOT want to end...

The director of this movie, Alexander Payne, was the guy who made "Sideways." This is a very different movie in that it focuses on family relationships rather than those between friends and lovers. But, Payne displays--in this touching and very real movie--the same incredible talent for doing two things better than almost every other movie maker (at least as far as I'm concerned): 1) he brings the viewer into the geography and milieu of the time and place in a gritty way that clearly presents the natural beauty of the area without over-romanticizing it and 2) he fits the characters into this environment and achieves a reality for these people that transcends the 2-dimensional characters that populate the multiplexes. You really care about these people.

Another similarity between the characters in "Sideways" and this movie is that the protagonists are, in at least one important way, lost. They both are also honest with themselves.

And thank God Payne did not use an orchestra for the soundtrack that would foreshadow and punctuate the scenes telling us how our emotions should run...I will not tell you what the soundtrack is, other than to say it's perfect.

This is not a comedy though there are a few laugh lines. Clooney will get the Oscar for this...how can he not? He is in every scene, and I cannot imagine him being better. And Shailene Woodley plays his older daughter: just amazing. A beautifully realized character.

I tried carefully here to give nothing away but to encourage you to see this as soon as you can. Brilliant.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Descendants

Filming Locations:

Lihue Airport - 3901 Mokulele Loop, Lihue, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,190,096, 20 November 2011

Gross USA:

$82,584,160

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$177,243,185

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Ad Hominem Enterprises, Dune Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1