The Descendants is a slow burning film about a man coming to grips with the fact that he doesn't really know the people around him. In the opening moments of the film, Elizabeth, the wife of George Clooney's character Matt King, has a jet ski accident. Or perhaps a boating accident (I can't quite remember). She doesnt die, but she is in a coma. And her chances for life back to normal are very slim. He is faced with two daughters who are consistently testing which boundaries they can break through and which will hold them. He is faced with revelations of his wife's infidelity. And on the side, he is faced with the fact that as descendent of the indigenous royalty of Hawaii;his extended family wants to sell off their birthright - untouched paradise wilderness.
A crisis. On all fronts.
He questions what it is to be a father. A husband. A patriarch of a tribe. And a responsible custodian of the land of his ancestors.
The HSC English Area of Study is currently about Belonging. And that word kept clanging in my head throughout this film. Having said that, I don't necessarily think the dudes at The Boy Factory are going to choose this as their related text for themselves. As I mentioned, it is a little bit slow burn. Sparky wouldn't enjoy it, as it doesn't have much of the prerequisites of a Bloke Film. Swearing, Shooting, Fucking and Fighting. Instead, there is Awkward Running, Long Silences, Quiet Tears and Determined Facial Expressions. Far less Blokey.
The Descendants could be seen as a part of a series for director Alex Payne. Movies about dudes experiencing a serious schism in their lives. At a fault line of emotions and reality. Sideways, About Schmidt, Election and this one see our protagonist Paul Giamatti/Jack Nicholson/Matthew Broderick/George Clooney faced with a change in their lives that turns their world upside down. He tortures these characters with humilation and awkward running - seriously, in all four films, the running is at a level of awkward you could only cringe to - that inspires pity and that might be why we connect with them. This humiliation of running in a weird way is possibly what knocks the innate hubris out of the guy, so that we get on their side.
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| The Awkward Run |
George Clooney is pretty phenomenal in this film. He may well be bestowed with more golden statues this awards season, but I think that is because the academies/voters will also be rewarding him for a thoroughly rich career of performances thus far. Just like they gave awards to Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe a year too late, Clooney just might get the nod for being an all rounder, rather than just nailing this performance. Even better than him was his teenage daughter Alex, played by Shailene Woodley. Not to harp on about my own personal life experience but I know teenagers. I know their need for stability, and their self perceived right to simultaneously demand two opposing things, and their ability to spout violent spite in one breath and then respect and affection in the next. And man, does this chica nail it. Perfectly.
If I didn't already have a small plan to get to a piece of Hawaiin paradise some time in the next 12 months, this film would have propelled me to the nearest Flight Centre for sure. The premise that life in the tropical paradise is anything other than idyllic is shattered for sure by Clooney and Payne. But the blood deep bond with the land and it's history is tangible through the screen, reaching into my own veins and stirring up all those longings for wilderness and a little place of unspoiled paradise.
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