The Descendants

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

After a boating accident leaves his wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), in a coma, wealthy landowner Matt King (Clooney) is forced to make many difficult decisions.  He is considered the "backup parent" who leaves raising their daughters, Alexandra (Woodley) and Scottie (Miller) to his wife.  When the doctors reveal that Elizabeth's coma is permanent, and she wishes to be taken off the machines, Matt brings his daughters back home.  Together, they mourn their losses and find answers.


This film garnered significant buzz from the time it hit theaters and especially during the 2011-2012 award season.  The film lives up to the buzz, with a strong story (which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay) and gorgeous locations.  The story is based on the novel (with the same name) by Kaui Hart Hemmings.  The cast, led by George Clooney, is strong... with Clooney and Shailene Woodley (from TV's Secret Life of an American Teen) doing the heavy hitting.

The film packs an emotional punch and doesn't try to wrap up everything into a neat bow.  Some characters and situations are ugly, like real life.  The ending was satisfying, and how you want the film to end.  Definitely worth looking into, and now I want to watch other films by Alexander Payne (or other scripts written by Jim Rash, who I love in TV's Community).

The Descendants (2011) 115 minutes
Rating: R for language including some sexual references
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney as Matt King
Shailene Woodley as Alexandra King
Amara Miller as Scottie King
Nick Krause as Sid