Matt reaches for grace and finds it.
The Descendants is neither slick nor sleek and for that refreshing
pleasure we are indebted to producer/director Alexander Payne. The characters
are the same odd assortment that make up our own lives, and at one time or
another all are overwhelmed by circumstance. It is their reactions that set this
movie apart primarily because both the characters and the circumstances are the
familiar stuff of ordinary lives. It feels not so much like a scripted film as a
series of predicaments common to the human condition. We know these people.
We are told
that Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), who felt neglected by her lawyer husband Matt
(George Clooney), developed a taste for alcohol, motorcycles, fast boats, and a
lover. After a catastrophic boating accident, she lies comatose in a hospital
with no hope of recovery. With Elizabeth's living will directive in hand, Matt
tells friends and family that they are welcome to come to the hospital to say
goodbye.
The startling
authenticity of this movie is seen perfectly at Elizabeths's bedside. In
flashback we see her vital delight at the helm of the speedboat, and then, the
wrenching dead white reality of the coma. There is no one home in that body. In
a life crisis that has no script, Matt reaches for grace and finds it.
All this
unfolds in Hawaii where we quickly see that life in America's paradise is
subject to all the same family conflicts as life in any mainland suburb.
Troubled teenagers, money fights, adultery - this may be common family currency,
but George Clooney captures something rarely seen in Hollywood movies: the inner
confusion most of us suffer as we try to sort options and make decisions. As
Matt King, husband/father/lawyer, he is called upon to give the final word on
severing his wife's thin tie to life, to mediate a throng of ungrateful cousins
as they vote to develop the family land, and, most importantly, to guide his two
daughters Scottie (Amara Miller) who is ten and Alex (Shailene Woodley),
seventeen.
Clooney
manages to tell us through the slightest changes of expression that he is
completely bewildered by the questions life has suddenly thrown his way.
Reacting to each development with moments of unfiltered, raw emotion, he grabs
back his control and reaches deep for considered decisions consistent with his
own values. He's human, but he is the family's lead guy, the only one who can
find the right solutions. His confusion is achingly familiar.
And then
there's the question of beauty. It is Clooney's gift that in spite of being born
with the burden of an irresistible face, he is able to check his ego at the door
and find the core of a character. As daughter Alex, Shailene Woodley's good
looks mask only for a second the fierce intelligence of a truly fine actor. With
the help of a fine, committed cast, these two take this movie to some very
unexpected places.
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