(Dir: Alexander Payne, 2011)
Alexander Payne is one of those directors who appears to be
highly reverred within the film community, yet I’ve always struggled to fully
appreciate why. I enjoyed Election a lot, appreciated Sideways to
a certain extent, but didn't really like About Schmidt. His films seem
to focus on reaching a specific point in life, an age based milestone maybe,
and seeing how the characters deal with it. Perhaps when watching these films I
wasn’t able to properly grasp the portrayed themes of approaching middle age or
retirement? Maybe I just wasn’t ready? However, with a few more years
perspective gained I think I’m ready to give them another go, and part of the
inclination to do so comes from Payne’s latest film, The Descendants.
The Descendants is an interesting and extremely
well put together drama about dealing with middle age crises. The crises in
question here are, what happens when your wife has an accident and ends up in a
coma? How do you then deal with your daughters when you’re the “back-up parent”
and how do you cope with a revelation that threatens to break up your marriage?
That is what's facing Matt King, superbly played by George Clooney. As ever,
Clooney brings his immense likeability and charm to a role that requires him to
portray a seemingly normal family man, thrust into a situation that feels far
beyond his control. He looks like he has lived this life and there are years
etched into his face and in his greying hair. He becomes this character,
and with a lightness of touch manages to bring out the requisite pathos. It’s
definitely one of the best performances Clooney has given in a career of
excellent performances.
Fortunately the acting by both of the daughters also helps to
keep the core of the story, the family unit, believable, particularly Shailene
Woodley who plays the eldest daughter Alex. There is a subtle complexity to
Alex's character that is slowly revealed as the story develops and helps avoid
her becoming the usual one note teen cliché. She is accompanied at almost all
times by an older boy, Sid, played by Nick Krause, and he essentially provides
comic relief. But there is one fantastic scene later on in the film between Sid
and Matt that beautifully reveals why he is keen to spend so much time with a
family going through so much hell. This was one of my favourite moments in the
film.
Much is made of the Hawaiian setting, particularly as the
family visit the island of Kauai, which also serves to provide an additional
storyline concerning a large amount of land owned by Matt and his
cousins. This touches on the issues of whether or not it's right to sell
off some of this native land for development, providing welcome food for
thought. It's all nicely interwoven into the overall story of the film, giving
the opportunity to show more of beautiful Hawaii and offering an interesting
diversion from the main story.
I really liked The Descendants - it’s an engaging and
mature film that's very well written and beautifully crafted, although I do
wonder if it would have been as good without Clooney in the lead role. Maybe
I'm a little biased as he is one of my favourite actors, but I really thought
he made this role his own. It’s testament to a skillful director that they can
take such a potentially depressing story and not get unnecessarily weighed down
by the emotional aspects. There is a lot of emotion in the film, but it comes
through when it serves the story best. Maybe I wasn’t ready for Payne’s
previous films at the time I watched them, but fortunately that wasn't the case
with The Descendants.
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