Movie Title: The Descendants
First Watch / Repeat Viewing
Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.
Rated: R
Who did I watch with?: Flying Solo
Where did I watch it?: Home
Review:
Matt King (George Clooney) is a real estate lawyer born and raised in Hawaii. He is a father of two and his wife has just been in a terrible water skiing accident. He is simultaneously involved in a huge real estate deal that has broader implications for Hawaii. King is landed nobility in Hawaii. He owns 2,500 acres of prime real estate in a trust he is being forced to sell that could fetch the family as much as half a billion dollars. Many of his relatives are dead broke.
He has not been involved with his family very much and this crisis has forced them to come together. Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) is his older daughter that they have sent away to boarding school. She drinks and gets into trouble. Scottie (Amara Miller) knows things that she shouldn’t, but is also very immature. It is revealed early on that Matt’s wife Elizabeth is not going to make it. They are not going to watch her waste away. She had a living will that dictated her removal from life support, but it is not all that easy. Revelations about Elizabeth come to pass that Matt has to reconcile before her passing. These issues become intertwined with the complexities of the real estate deal he is attempting to execute with his family.
The movie is interesting because it blends the tourist’s paradise of Hawaii through music and postcard like visuals with the terrible drama occurring on screen that is torn from true life. The landscape of the island is beautiful and the performances are thoroughly well done including unexpected turns from Judy Greer and Matthew Lillard.
Verdict:
It is an excellent family drama with beautiful scenery. See it.
Tomorrow’s Movie: Total Recall (2012)
