The Descendants is an emotionally
charged story handled with respect and dignity. I loved that intertwined within
the generic elements of the story they threw out a lot of the clichés and went
with a more unique story where you could better sympathise with the characters.
Alexander Payne’s directing also added a wonderful depth to the story and
showcased the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. The use of traditional Hawaiian music
throughout the score also added to the emotion and harmony of the film.
George Clooney was fantastic as
Matt King, and is someone who often seems too underrated. The actors playing Clooney’s
daughters Alex (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alex’s boyfriend
Sid (Nick Krause) all had wonderful performances. It’s nice to see films take a
chance on young, starting out actors; Amara did a great job in her first role.
I was also impressed by the stamina of Patricia Hastie who played the comatose
Elizabeth King. It must have been difficult to stay so still and not react for
what must have felt like forever.
Clooney’s Matt is a husband and
father of seventeen and ten year old daughters. His work as a lawyer and his
role as sole trustee over his family’s estate often take him away from home.
However this is a man who despite a distance that has crept in loves his
family, wants only what is best for them and has a compassion and morality that
many finding themselves in his situation may not possess. Matt’s wife Elizabeth
is in a coma due to a boating accident, and while he faces the heartbreaking reality
of cutting life support as per her legal requests he finds out that the women he
has slowly grown apart from but wants to get to know again has been cheating on
him. The story however doesn’t take a vindictive turn and this knowledge doesn’t
influence his decisions. Despite all that he is feeling Matt’s sole purpose is
to ensure that everyone else keeps their loving memories and has their last
moments with Elizabeth. Throughout his journey we see a man who reconnects with
his daughters, protects his family, protects his wife’s memory in those who don’t
know the truth and who goes out of his way to ensure that Brian Speer (the man
his wife was seeing) gets the opportunity to say goodbye. He discovers however
that Brian didn’t ever love Elizabeth but rather saw her as a means to an end
to get the multi-million dollar commissions from the sale of pristine land inherited
by his family. Matt has moments of anger towards his wife when alone in the
hospital room with her, but ultimately when the moment comes that he has to say
his final goodbyes he does so from the place they were not the place he is in.
He says goodbye to the love of his life, shedding tears over the loss to his
life and those of his daughters.
Brian Speer is in many ways Matt’s
polar opposite. While Matt makes the ultimate decision not to sell his family’s
land but rather to promote conservation and heritage over a multi-million
dollar pay day, this is in direct contrast to Brian’s willingness to take part
in destroying two families for that same pay day.
When we first meet eldest
daughter Alex she is drunk and outside sleeping quarters after hours at her
rehab/school. She’d made some bad choices, but she isn’t established to be the
stereotypical teenager with authority and rebellion issues. Instead it is
established through the story that her mum had a wild streak and was an
adrenaline junky who didn’t always think of consequence over action. Like
mother, like daughter there was a certain destructiveness about Alex, however
through this and her brashness there is also a responsible young women who
despite the pain the knowledge of her mother’s affair causes her is there for
her dad and younger sister. Unlike most teenagers who find themselves in these
circumstances on film she doesn’t side with her mother and blame everything on
her father who was at times absent for work. She doesn’t claim that his absence
was a sign that he didn’t love his family and that he had it coming, but rather
was disgusted with her mother that she would take advantage of her father’s
absence, abuse his trust and throw away his love. She was mature enough not to
ruin her sister’s or grandfather’s image of their mother & daughter. She
had to come to terms with the conflicting knowledge that she was going to lose
her mother, someone she both loved and hated in that moment.
Like Alex, her boyfriend Sid did
not always make the best decisions in life. He openly admitted to using
marijuana and didn’t always come across as the brightest of people. However as
you got to know him you soon discovered that while he was not always
appropriate in his timing that he was intelligent. He understood the difficult
situation the King family had found
themselves in and without question established himself within their family
dynamic; being a rock for Alex, an older brother to Scottie and ensuring that
her innocence was protected. While Matt was weary of him to begin with he soon
saw the diamond in the rough and came to trust Sid and even confide in him to
an extent.
Throughout the film youngest
daughter Scottie is in the dark as to the seriousness of her mother’s
condition, the true nature of their holiday to find Brian and Elizabeth’s
indiscretions. She is a ten year old dealing with the situation the best way she
knows how. Scottie represents innocents and hope. She is young enough to be
carefree and not quiet grasp the seriousness of her mother’s condition. However
when she is eventually told that her mother won’t make it there is ultimately
an understanding of what that means and a sadness that overcomes her as she
grasps this terrible concept for the first time.
This story is ultimately one
about forgiveness, the importance of family and protecting a legacy that has
been passed down and entrusted through the generations. It is a journey of self-discovery
and compassion amidst life’s hard truths. It is a unique look into a generic
story and one that leaves you feeling for the characters.
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