Review of The Descendants (2011) by Steven S — 13 Oct 2012

?My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise, like a permanent vacation. We're all just out here, sipping Mai Tais, shaking our hips, catching waves. Are they insane? Do they think we are immune to life? How can they possibly think our families are less screwed up, our cancers less fatal, our heartache less painful??

This quote tells you what you?re in for ? it comes at the very beginning of the film, and, as much as I loath voiceovers ? well, when you?ve got writing like this, got for it!

Once again Director/ writer Alexander Payne has come up with a witty ode to the everyman, taking a flawed human being (like who isn?t?) and making him, foibles and all, almost heroic. Of course having the likes of George Clooney as your lead doesn?t hurt. In this film Clooney and the script mesh like a well oiled machine ? the pace and tempo of the film seem to fit Clooney to a T (and I always wondered what that meant).

Here the film manages to have that slowed down, island kind of time to it, and yet instead of being bored, Payne somehow makes us feel invested in the slow unraveling of the story ? just when you think the film is teetering on cliché, it says something new and poignant, as the plot twists away from where you thought it was going to go.

The central theme of the story winds its way around a tragic accident and shows how an event can and should give each of us time to ponder important things like mortality, life and love. Here we see how pain and anger can make a person lash out ? spewing venom when they are unable to say that they are hurting. I found so much of this film to be so very honest, and even when the film veers slightly into plot convenience, it is never really for long, and there are always truths to tell just around the next cinematic bend.

The acting on display here is solid, down to the very minor characters; each does what is required, hitting the right notes and moving out of the way to let the words (and often lack thereof ? another nice bit of directing ? knowing when to shut the hell up) say what needs to be said.

The film isn?t perfect ? there?s too much of a travelog sentiment for one thing ? but if you can give that a pass then this film holds much to admire and enjoy.