Not long ago, I was driving to work when some jerk was cutting people off and driving recklessly as she rushed on her way. Where I live, such aggressive driving is not uncommon and it annoys me when other drivers think they are more important than everyone else. On this morning, though, as she cut around me, I did not rescind the aggressive driving or even flip the bird as I have been known to do.
Several blocks down the road, I noticed her car parked on the side of the road. She was parked outside a junior high school, and in front of the school there also was an ambulance. She was rushing because she had heard that her child had been hurt. The incident reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, generally attributed to Plato: “Be kind because everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
I thought of the quote and the driver recently while watching The Descendants (2011). Too often, films portray characters as two dimensional, either good or bad. But some, like The Descendants, at least provide a few brilliant moments that remind us that others are just as complicated as we are. These moments in The Descendants were my favorite parts of the movie. We watch George Clooney having a late-night conversation with a teenage boy, who suddenly goes from being a stereotype played for comic relief to a real person. In another scene, we watch a father-in-law yell at his son-in-law played by Clooney, while we wonder why Clooney’s character does not easily respond. But then we see why Clooney held his tongue. He remembered that everyone is fighting a hard battle.
The Descendants tells the story of Matt King (Clooney) whose wife is in a coma from a boating accident. While she is in the hospital, King tries to connect with and understand his two daughters, while he also struggles with a major family and work decision and with a discovery about his dying wife. Many critics have mentioned Clooney’s performance as Oscar-worthy, and it is. The other actors — including Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, and Beau Bridges — are excellent, and the film makes great use of the Hawaii scenery to help tell the story.
Because I had already heard a lot about the movie before seeing it, the first third of the movie seemed too familiar, but as the movie progressed, I was sucked into a deeper story than I expected. Some of the trailer clips make the movie look like a comedy, but while there are some funny moments, the film is more moving drama than hilarious comedy. The Descendants is directed and co-written by Alexander Payne, who also directed and co-wrote Sideways (2004), About Schmidt (2002), and Election (1999). While all of those movies touch on some similar themes and tone, they each are different, and one should not expect another Sideways. But The Descendants is an excellent addition to the director’s outstanding work.
Some Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?: On Rotten Tomatoes, The Descendants currently has a 90% critic rating and an 85% audience rating. Leonard Maltin praised the movie, asserting, “Watching a film as mature, moving, original and unpredictable as The Descendants renews my faith in American movies.” One of the few dissenters on the movie, Walter Chaw at FilmFreakCentral concluded that “The Descendants doesn’t just waste my time–it also empties the chamber of an artist (Director Payne) who should be making better movies.” Ouch.
What did you think of The Descendants? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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I had low expectations going into ‘The Descendants’. The main character seemed like yet another addition to Clooney’s long list of flawed protagonists who have put their careers before family/others and is looking for redemption (‘The American’, ‘Up in the Air’, ‘Michael Clayton’, ‘Syriana’, even ‘Three Kings’). I was also a little surprised that Payne was making another movie where infidelity was part of the plot (‘Sideways’, ‘Election’, even ‘About Schmidt’ to a lesser degree). The film just looked like more of the same from the director and star.
To my surprise, I found ‘The Descendants’ to be an excellent film; well-written and full of compassion for its flawed characters. The scenes you noted are some of what’s best about Payne’s film: he shows us how awful people can be while letting us know that these characters have their own struggles that contribute to their poor behavior and destructive attitudes and actions. This is hands down the most believable performance Clooney has created, and he’s great in the film as are the two actresses who play his daughters, Robert Forrester, and the entire cast. I really hope Beau Bridges gets some supporting actor nomination for his work in the film because he deserves it. ‘The Descendants’ is something rare: a movie with a lot of heart that is also intelligent, character-driven, and insightful.
i agree with you on all points. Although Beau Bridges has a small part, his appearances add a lot to the film and, as you note, he is outstanding. I also hope that he starts getting more good roles because of his performance here. Thanks for the comment.