Normally when Hawaii is the setting for a film it is used as somewhere romantic and tropical (think Just Go With It) or it is being used for its amazing surf spots (like in Soul Surfer and Blue Crush). But as Matt King’s voiceover so elegantly reminds us in The Descendants Hawaii is also the home of many people, and those people have lives just like the rest of us.
To an outsider King (George Clooney – Ides Of March, The American) is one of the lucky ones to call Hawaii. He is a successful lawyer who is set to inherit a fortune as he part of a family who owns a massive chunk of an island that is about to be developed. But all the rotten pieces of King’s life is exposed when his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie – Princess Ka’iulani, TV’S Lost) is involved in a boating accident that puts her in a coma. It takes this tragedy for Matt to realise just how distant he has become from his two daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller – newcomer) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley – Our Deal, TV’S The Secret Life Of An American Teenager).
When many have reviewed this film they have labeled it a ‘great’ film and that George Clooney’s performance is ‘brilliant’, but I have to admit that I disagree. The Descendants is a good film but I have seen better while Clooney is like a national cricketer coming back to district cricket. He waltzes through the film with ease because despite the subject matter not once is his acting put to any dramatic test. Yes, I give him credit for his performance but is equal to the job that say Ryan Gosling did in Drive… you would have to say no.
What does make The Descendants a good film is director/screenwriter Alexander Payne’s (Sideways, About Schmidt) use of Hawaii as a location. He keeps away from the sundrenched scenes that we have come to see Hawaii as and instead uses the moody images of fog lingering over green covered mountains. Even little things like Matt’s film being filthy with leaves rather than pristine and clean shows Payne is on the ball and knows how to bring a real atmosphere to a film.
The two performances that do deserve a mention are those of Shailene Woodley who takes a massive step up from the ability she has shown in The Secret Life Of An American Teenager while the big winner is Nick Krause (ExTerminators, Enough) who seems to relish the role of stoner, Sid. He manages to steal more scenes than Mr. Clooney by a mile, and seems to be able to mix drama and comedy remarkable well for an actor of his age.
The Descendents is a worthy watch and certainly a film I’d love to have another look at (because of its intriguing script) but I think those labeling it and George Clooney’s performance as ‘stunning’ are over-exaggerating just a little.
Year: 2011
Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
Classification: M
Runtime: 115 mins
Rating: 
Out on DVD/Blu-Ray 9th May 2012