From the director and screenwriter of ‘Sideways’ and ‘About Schmidt’ comes Alexander Payne’s dysfunctional family dramedy ‘The Descendants’. The film got a Denver Film Festival “Big Night” opening this past Saturday, one of the most highly anticipated films of not only the festival but also the fall Oscar season.
The film opens with a voice over background given by father, husband, and Hawaii real estate guru Matt King (George Clooney). He describes a boating accident his wife had recently been in and her waning physical health as a result. This becomes the vehicle for Matt, former family recluse and now forced-to-be #1 dad, to bring his family together in these trying times. After he gathers his two daughters and brings his cousins/business partners together for what is to be an important and profitable land sale, Matt finds out his wife’s condition is terminal. To make matters worse, Matt also finds out what tore his family apart months earlier…his wife was cheating on him. What unfolds is Matt’s self discovery of what is important in life and business, his need for closure of his wife’s affair, and how he can forge a meaningful relationship with his two daughters.
Being a big fan of ‘Sideways’ (“No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f***ing Merlot!”) I was extremely excited for Payne’s follow up effort. Unfortunately being 7 years removed from directing was all too apparent. The film’s use of voice over was especially displeasing. Forgoing classic narrative structure (using the characters situations, dialogue, actions/reactions) to establish Matt’s character, Payne glosses over Matt’s background and initial motivations in a 45 second voice over narration my century old great grandmother could’ve written. Not a great start. However you can’t discount the fact Payne has a knack for creating (and writing) great characters.
Clooney is his usual dependable self, really embracing the awkwardness of the situation(s) he is presented, ex. not freaking out and attacking his wife’s secret lover when he encounters him. He downplays the character and challenges the audience to either feel sorry for or laugh at him, not an easy task. Shailene Woodley plays the older of the two daughters (Alex) and is believable in her transition from angst ridden mad at the world teen to sweet and helpful cynic in Matt’s efforts to find his wife’s squeeze. Nick Krause is Sid, Alex’s “guy” friend, and is quite possibly the best part of the film with his ignorant and perfectly timed one-liners.
The central problem throughout the film is the inability for Payne to make us believe the interactions and motivations of the characters in an integrated sense. Each character is hilarious in their own right, and the film has many funny moments, the important terms here being “own right” and “funny moments”. Never do I believe Matt actually cares about the land he is selling, and I shouldn’t because there is no ah ha moment for him, he confronts the “antagonist”, forgives his wife due to some internal self-revelation (this being somewhat believable due to his realization he wasn’t always involved in her and his kids lives) and then decides to keep the land? Why the land? Also, the interactions between many of the characters felt forced, the banter between the sisters was hardly organic, and although I enjoyed how Clooney played his character it almost felt like he was misplaced in this film, destined to be in a much darker Cohen brothers adaptation.
On the whole the film was good not great, and my particular dismay stems greatly from the fact I was so pumped to see this thing! Do I think it is worth seeing? Sure, but no way do I believe it is the best film of the year as most critics are lauding it. To quote Mugatu from ‘Zoolander’, “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!” The thing will get nominations, probably a lot of them, and that’s ok (writing, acting I would agree with, Picture and Director should not be recognized but they will be). But, and mark my words on this, if ‘The Descendants’ somehow wins Best Picture, may Tebow have mercy on the Academy’s souls.
Grade: B –
Oscar Chances:
Best Picture: Lock
Best Director (Payne): Lock
Best Actor (Clooney): Lock
Best Adapted Screenplay (Payne): Highly Likely
Best Supporting Actress (Woodley): Possible due to weak field
Best Original Score: Possible
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