The Descendants, a Critique

ENG225/Introduction to Film

Instructor: Jenessa Gerling

Sept 10, 2012

The film I chose to critique for this paper is part comedy and more drama, which was based on a novel written by Kaui Hemmings; the topics this movie covers would make most consider it to be solely a drama, but there was enough comical situations placed in to ensure its place on the comedy shelves as well. This book was eventually converted from the pages to the big screen and it was done so by Alexander Payne, who is a director and a writer. The name of this movie is "The Descendants" (2011), which is a very good movie if I do say so myself; the movie was actually nominated for 5 academy awards ("Fox Searchlight - The Descendants - Official Site", 2012).

The movie itself is basically "old fashioned", in the way it presents its several problems that the characters have to face. The characters, mainly Clooney's, has to deal with some very serious circumstances, ones which he faces head on and full of emotion; most of the characters have to make serious life choices, and ultimately deal with their decisions. The story puts most of the characters against a handful of real life situations and eventually draws you into the same conclusions that the characters choose; even when there is no true answer to their dilemmas, they are happy with the outcomes. The movie can be considered as a grown up movie for the most part, but there is enough in the film to actually appeal to all audiences; one of the best features of the film, in my opinion, is the scenes were we get drawn into Matt's decisions processes and how he begins to work on the problem. In a way we actually get to feel the stress that Matt, or Clooney, is going through at the time. For instance, I could actually see myself imitating Matt's actions after he found out his wife was not being faithful in their marriage.

To begin, we will cover the storytelling aspect of the movie. The main character is Matt King, who was played by George Clooney, and he just happened to be a descendant of a royal family of Hawaii. Being of the royal decent, he was also the future beneficiary of a lot of undeveloped land in Kauai, which he is leaning towards using to on to have a comfortable future while he solely relies on his income during current times. King and his distant cousins actually make up a trust to oversee the land's future, but new laws in the future will actually return the land to the state; which creates the first dilemma. All the while, Matt's wife Elizabeth was in a tragic boating accident that left her in a vegetable state; which would later be found out that the condition is terminal, and a decision would have to be made. At this point in the movie, Matt's heart has become heavy and is even more torn since he has to notify his daughters; which are leading different and separate lives.

As the story goes along and Matt begins to learn more and more, he begins to be burdened with ethical and moral problems that require important decisions. He is a continual struggle with having to make the decision of pulling the plug on his wife, which he finds out has not been faithful, informing his daughters of their mother's condition, dealing with the in-laws blaming his of their daughter's condition, and even fighting with cousins about to sell the land they have trust in. This turns out to be an excellent story, my personal opinion, which actually could happen, and would tug at the soul of anyone that would happen to live through it.

All of the actors in the film did an excellent job in every aspect. George Clooney, who played Matt, nailed a person who had to deal with so many complex problems at one time, he showed an understanding of the character and even the audience will eventually come to the same conclusions. Previous films that Clooney starred in actually placed him in very different roles and this is none like any he has been in before. Clooney has to dress down into"normal" person's everyday clothes, bad hair, and an unshaven face, as where other films he has been is has him dressed in either shirt and tie types of outfits, military, and even a batman suit in "Batman and Robin" ("George Clooney Movies", n.d.).

Scott Thorson, played by Robert Foster, drew me in playing the role of a heart broken father that can do nothing but blame her husband for her condition. Shailene Woodley, who played Alexandra, and Amara Miller, who played Scottie, actually made me think of my own daughters and how they would react in the same conditions. Hugh, played by Beau Bridges, was the best impatient cousin, and was definitely concerned more for himself than the situations of even family.

This is a very powerful film in my eyes, since it brings forth stories about breaking the trust of a marriage, emotional grief, and some very important business decisions. Although the movie is powerful and moving, it was carefully balanced between the lows and highs; this is important to keep the audience from taking a quick leave, because I would have if not for the comic relief presented in the most natural ways. One may not even realize just how the director carefully orchestrated the whole event. ¬

The cinematography found within this film is exquisite to say the least. Even though the film relies heavily on the dialogue found within, the film's production site, Hawaii, gives some of the best backdrops and tastes of realism found within comparable movies. One of the movies main plots was over the untouched beauty of the land held within the trust, so throughout the movie the audience