'The Descendants' review

Matt King (George Clooney) is father to two really sassy girls Alex (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller), who takes her sassiness after her older sister, and husband to almost-dead Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie). He is also the only trustee of a huge piece of land in Hawaii which has belonged to his family for many generations.

Directed by Alexander Payne, Matt’s story begins after his wife has the boating accident that leaves her in a coma. To add a temporary accompanying tragedy (which is in no manner insignificant) before he finds the main struggle he will face during this film, he and his cousins must decide whether or not to sell their land because the trust will be valid for only seven more years. Also, he is not exactly in good terms with his daughters mainly because of his negligence, a product of his workaholic tendencies.

The film starts off with a hopeful and peaceful atmosphere provided by Clooney’s monologue despite the fact that it begins with Elizabeth’s accident. This oxymoronic theme lingers for most of the film especially when Matt finds out that his wife has been having an affair for some time now and more importantly that it is his older daughter who gives him the news.

This is where the film turns everything around because instead of being sad and all devastated over Elizabeth’s tragedy Matt and Alex yell and accuse Elizabeth in her death bed asking questions and trying to confront her. As a response every now and then in between their furious screams, shots of Elizabeth’s stiff bluish dry open mouthed face appear briefly… in complete silence. Scottie also adds to the non-reverence mood but only because she is too young to fully understand the gravity of her mother’s condition much less her having an affair.

Alex and Matt decide to hunt down Elizabeth’s lover and discover that he has a family of his own and was apparently using Elizabeth to profit from Matt’s trust sell. His wife had no idea about the affair either but after she finds out she visits Elizabeth in the hospital and joins Matt in yelling at the half corpse for trying to destroy her marriage.

These “dark moments” (whose disturbing nature carries an unexpected humorous tone), as they are referred to by Common Sense Media (which proves a helpful website when deciding whether or not to take your kids to this movie), make you momentarily doubt who the film wants you to root for. In a way, they are all right and they are all wrong all at the same time. The darkness of these scenes is supposed to remind the audience that tragedies tend to wreck families instead of bringing them together as it happens here.

At the end, Matt proves an excellent back-up parent, according to The Christian Science Monitor, because he bonds with Alex while investigating Elizabeth’s boyfriend. He teaches his family to pay Elizabeth her due respects despite her actions and forgiveness prevails.