In 7 words or less: George Clooney sad but funny in Hawaii.
What's it all About? Matt King (George Clooney) owns 25,000 acres of undeveloped land in Hawaii. His wife falls into a coma after a tragic boating accident and he is left trying to reconnect with his two daughters. Whilst his wife is on life support, Matt discovers a rather alarming revelation about their relationship and so embarks on a journey with his two daughters to seek out answers. Running along side this main plot is a sub plot regarding Matt's inner turmoil about the land he owns and his impending decision to sell it to some Hawaiian blotter jotters.
Best bits? I absolutely love the humour in Alexander Payne films, it's dark and always comes at unexpected, seemingly inappropriate moments. The Descendants is no exception to this and as well as having it's fair share of laughs it also comes fully loaded with some really touching, poignant scenes as well.
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George Clooney is brilliant and in my opinion worthy of his Oscar nod. He nails all of the delicate nuances that are needed for a film like this and delivers a sublime performance. I love the relationship he has with Sid; his daughters knuckle-headed boyfriend. At the start of the film he has absolutely zero time for this archetype of modern youth, but in a rather touching scene later on in the movie he sits down and asks Sid for advice. Well done Cloontang.
Did it make you think thoughts? Sometimes it surprises me when films of this nature create so much buzz around award season but I think this is probably just about worthy of all the hype. I thought it was really funny, like LOL funny. I'm not sure if others will find that to be the case but either way it's worth checking out.
Would you watch it again? Yeah, I reckon I might.
Rating (out of 100%): 78% I'm starting to realise I'm a massive fan of the Cloontang! Contrary to popular belief, I don't think this is a massive shift towards mainstream cinema from Alexander Payne; maybe people are saying that because of all the buzz buzz?
