Paterfamilias

Movies: The Descendants

Major plot points are given away in this review, fyi.

For all the hype and praise I heard about the Oscar-nominated film The Descendants, I wasn't super-impressed by it. That's not to say it was bad; it just didn't live up to the hype. And I kinda blame this on the casting of George Clooney as the lead.

Written and directed by one of the kings of uncomfortable comedy, Alexander Payne (who also wrote and directed two of my favorite films, Sideways and Election), I expected The Descendants to be much darker and funnier than it was. The film concerns Matt King (Clooney), who is going through some tough times, to say the least. He is the heir to some major acreage on Kauai, a Hawaiian island, and is under pressure by his extended family to sell the land so they can all make some big bucks. Matt is also the father of two precocious and rebellious daughters, whom he loves, but has difficulty relating to.


Finally, Matt has a wife, Elizabeth, who is in a coma from a boating accident. If that wasn't bad enough, Matt discovers that Elizabeth was cheating on him. Elizabeth's friends know and his oldest daughter know, but Matt had no idea. And now he may never be able to get answers or an apology from his comatose wife. Just imagine what it would be like to find out someone you loved betrayed you...and never having the opportunity to get an explanation from them or to let them know you forgive--or don't forgive--them.

Talk about some bad luck. But despite the difficult and devastating situations Matt is in, The Descendants felt very gentle to me. It's a film about dealing with the death of a loved one, learning how to be a good parent, and figuring out how to forgive. It's not preachy, but it's also not nihilistic or bitter. The Descendants succeeds in its humanity and "shit happens, but that doesn't mean life can't be joyous" attitude.

Where The Descendants failed is in it's selection of a compelling leading man. Don't get me wrong, George Clooney is a great actor. And he can *do* sadness--provided it's a certain kind of sadness. He was excellent in his role as Ryan Bingham, the detached, ambivalent-about-relationships protagonist of Up in the Air. But I had trouble buying his take as the grieving cuckold with the weight of the world on his shoulders in The Descendants. Clooney is too slick, too handsome, too capable. Clooney plays Matt King like he played Ryan Bingham: a man who belongs in the sky, always moving, never settling. But the problem is that Matt King belongs on the earth. He's a man who has set down roots and thought he knew where his life was going. King is a man comfortable in a family, with a monogamous marriage and a daily routine. But Clooney is not an earthy actor.

With all of the shit that comes Matt's way, the filmmakers should have chosen an actor who isn't afraid to wallow in it a bit; to get emotionally dirty. Clooney lets nearly everything roll right off his back: He is relatively calm in the face of his wife's injury and impending death; he ignores his daughters' sass; he provides emotional support to his family and friends during the very time he needs support; he confronts his wife's lover, only to forgive and let go. I just didn't buy it. I guess it can't all be blamed on Clooney--after all, I suppose Alexander Payne wrote Matt King to be that kind of calm man. And, sure, calm men exist in real life. But I can't help but side eye a man who is calm throughout the adultery and death of a spouse, all while in the midst of a tense situation with his extended family (over the land).

The Descendants reminded me of Crazy, Stupid, Love--another film I couldn't quite get a handle on. I liked a lot of things about Crazy, Stupid, Love but I also felt that it had this glossy sheen over it, which kept it from being a truly *great* film. It wanted to be real, but not ugly. The Descendants is the same way--afraid to get too ugly. And, you know, that's fine. Not all movies have to be ugly and uber-realistic. But I thought The Descendants stood to gain a lot by being a little less airy and a little more down to earth.

3.5 out of 5 stars