"The Descendants" Ascends to Perfection

There are some movies that one sees during the course of any given year that makes one, to state it very simply, very glad that movies exist. A film like this almost makes up for the rest of the crappy crap that comes out during the year. You may have surmised that I have a particular film in mind that has made me feel as such. You have surmised correctly. Alexander Payne’s latest film, “The Descendants,” is a perfect movie. It is perfectly written and perfectly acted. If a film can get this right, it will entertain me, and sometimes make me want to pump my fist at the end in joy at seeing such a great film, even if the film does not deal with the happiest of subjects.
Part of the perfection of “The Descendants” stems from Payne’s ability to tell this sad story with such perfectly acted emotion and even some touches of humor. George Clooney plays Matt King, a lawyer living in Hawaii, whose family happens to own a beautiful and sizable amount of land in said state, which is being pursued by developers. King’s family has decided to sell the land to a man whom the family has agreed will use it well. Meanwhile, Matt’s wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), suffers a jet-skiing accident which puts her in a coma. A majority of the film handles the decisions Elizabeth’s family must make while she is on life support in the hospital. Some of the decisions regarding her and Matt’s life are the basis for the most interesting subplot in the film which I will not reveal.
Not only is George Clooney outstanding as Matt, but Shailene Woodley as his 17 year old daughter, Alexandra and Amara Miller as his younger daughter, Scottie are also fantastic. There are no acting missteps in this film. Every moment performed by these three actors is true. Given the subject matter and the emotional weight of the subject matter of the film, it is even more impressive and exciting to see such outstanding performances. As you may imagine from what I have written so far or from what you may have already read about the film, it deals with death, but that is not the only subject of the film. As I have intimated, it also handles issues that arise as Elizabeth lies in a coma. The ability of Payne, who co-wrote the film with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, to handle such heavy issues with thoughtfulness and wit is brilliant!! That statement gets two exclamation points. The humor in the film works very well just as did the humor in two of Payne’s previous films, “Election” and the brilliant Paul Giamatti/Thomas Haden Church film,“Sideways.” The humor in “The Descendants” is masterfully placed. It is apparent great care was taken in structuring the film so as to properly place the humorous moments amongst the seriousness of the overall issues of the film.
The Hawaiian music used in the film is wonderful as well. The soundtrack, according to the Los Angeles Times, is “a tour of Hawaiian music.” Not being a Hawaiian music expert, I will take their word for it. Like the humor in the film, the music used in the film is brilliantly placed and fits in very well. As with the humorus moments, the music in the film is never obtrusive.
If you can, see this in a theater. The location shooting in Hawaii is great! I felt as if I was there following the characters around as an observer in the beautiful Hawaiian locales. At the same time, Clooney’s character, at the beginning of the film, points out that the notion of Hawaii being nothing but paradise is incorrect as we see some shots of less than beautiful parts of the state. They are not horrible images or anything like that. The point is that people who live in Hawaii have the same kind of life experiences and problems as those who live in the mainland. Just because they happen who live in or have been born into a Hawaiian family does not mean that their lives are instantly full of sweet pineapple and luaus. That is not a major theme in the film. It was simply an establishing point made by Clooney’s character during the opening of the film. It was refreshing to see Hawaii used as simply a location for the film. Payne does not exploit the location with flashy and unnecessary establishing shots as you may find of Miami on CSI:Miami. There are no extraneous shots of surfers, waves, or guys dancing around with those poles that are on fire. “The Descendants” is not about Hawaii. Hawaii is simply the setting of the film.
I hope “The Descendants” wins the Best Picture Oscar in February. It will likely have heavy competition from Scorsese’s “Hugo,” which is not as good a film as this one and “The Tree of Life,” which I have not yet seen, however, when I do, you will know about it. I would love to see Clooney win an Oscar for his performance as Matt King as he handles the emotional range through which his character finds himself perfectly. His scenes of sadness, annoyance, and restraint through situations in which you would not expect one to be restrained are very well acted. Woodley and Miller deserve nominations as well for their work as King’s daughters. These three performers feel as though they are father and daughters. Everything in “The Descendants” feels natural. No emotion in the film feels forced or saccharin. It is not as light as “Election” or “Sideways.” It is a bit sad, but, and I must stress, not, I say, not depressing. A great film is never depressing. Remember that. A great film is never depressing. “The Descendants” is a perfect film and it ascends to true greatness.