The Descendants
{5/5} “A family feels exactly like an archipelago, separate but part of a whole, and always drifting slowly apart.”
The Descendants, released in 2011
In The Descendants Matt (George Clooney) tries to reconnect with his daughters Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller) after his wife is in a boating accident. In addition to dealing with revelations about his wife, he’s also in the middle of selling some property he owns along with his many cousins.
In the middle of the movie Matt takes his family on an unusual excursion where he is surprised to discover that the two situations he’s concerned about are linked. This is a story that hasn’t been told before — it’s an interesting story and extremely well told.
The story takes place in Hawaii, and the music is suitably Hawaiian in flavour.
This is another movie based on a novel and once again I didn’t discover this until after I watched it.
George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven) is marvelous as always. Beau Bridges (the latter seasons of Stargate SG-1) has a small role as one of Matt’s cousins. Judy Greer (the TV show Mad Love) also has a small role — it’s always a pleasure to see her. Nick Krause plays Sid, a friend of Alexandra’s who hangs out with them a lot. The younger actors — Woodley, Miller, and Krause — do a fine job alongside Clooney.
The movie was directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways).