The Descendants
Directed: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Stars: 4/5
This was a film that was recommended to me by LoveFilm, so I added it to my list. I remember that everyone was desperate to go and see this film in the cinema - but after watching it, I don't really know why! Unless you have a massive crush on George Clooney - well then, it's the perfect film for you.
I sound very negative for the start of this review, but honestly it wasn't what I expected. For me, I like to get to the deep issues within a relationship in a film, I like to feel that I'm able to step into the shoes of the characters, but this filmed lacked all of that for me. Personally I feel the emotional distraught could have come out a lot more in the story - but it just didn't feel enough, maybe it was because I was expecting too much? Or maybe it was that it wasn't my type of film.
The film start with Matt (George Clooney) doing a voice over, where we understood that his wife Elizabeth was in a accident which has left her in a coma, for 23 days.. and counting. They both have two daughters together, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller).
We see the difficulty in Matts' life as he tries to control all aspects, including the children. We hear that he hasn't looked after Scottie since she was 3, and now she was 10. So finding out how she has troubles at school with showing pictures of her mother in coma, the teachers look towards Matt for him to sort it out, but we notice he doesn't really know what to do. We get the image that he was away from the house more than he was in. So having to look after their daughter, with the added pressures of work and the family land that needs selling, we see how hard it is for him. He promises that everything will get better, but he knows deep down it's all left to him to deal with, and that it won't get better.
I liked how we see the reality of aftermath, but I think it would've been a lot better if we had seen a few snippets of Elizabeth and Matts' life together. Because we didn't get to see much of that, only what little information we got from Matt who was in denial about their life. It was only when Alexandra talked to her Dad that he understood it all fully.
Matt has a impossible conversation with his wife's Doctor, as the news on her brain scan wasn't good. She wouldn't be getting better and their life as they know it wasn't ever going to be the same. She was deteriorating and they were going to switch the machines off, then it was left for Elizabeth to go on her own. After hearing this bad news, he goes to the main land with Scottie to tell their daughter, Scottie's sister Alexandra about the Mother. When they got to Alexandra they found that she was drinking and behaving appallingly, so that was another issue he had to sort out - he honestly didn't realise how bad this has all become.
It was clear that the Mother and Alex had a bad relationship as the last time they saw each other they fought, and Matt never understood why they did and urged her to let go and make peace with her Mum before it's too late. She refused to at first due to her loyalty to her father, and told him the truth explaining that she was cheating on him with another man. After the bombshell, Matt fled to his friends house and demanded if they knew anything about the affair, they did. They knew that she had enough and was going to ask for a Divorce as she was in love with this other man.
I guess we can all imagine how finding out a partner has cheated, would feel so, to find that his friends also knew was heartbreaking. He lashed out and told them the truth about her not surviving.
Matt vows with his Daughter Alex to find the man she cheated on him with, with only the name 'Brain Speeder'. He didn't know what he was going to do when he met up with him or saw him, but he had to know what he was like.
They set out to find Brain with Alex's friend Sid (Nick Krause) who at first appeared to be cocky and arrogant (but we find out that's just an act!). It takes a long time for them to finally set eyes on them, I think it was constant turmoil about what they were going to do, how they'd handle it.. how much it's affecting their memories of their mother and wife.
I like how well handled the scenes were with the finally meeting Brian, as Matt wasn't reacting to it violently, or even that emotionally - It did seem he was just so tired of the who business but he loved his wife enough to give her lover the chance to say goodbye. I don't know if it was the whole 'men don't cry' type thing going on with Matt throughout this film? Or if it was just me expecting everyone to fall apart. But it does make you see how differently you'd maybe react in his position. We also realised that Brains wife was lovely, and had no idea just like him, and I think him knowing what his wife did, he didn't want to inflict the same pain onto Brains wife. Which was incredibly selfless and we do see how he emotionally change throughout the film with the daughters, from being a workaholic to a family man. This was the nicest part of the film for me.
I gave this film a 4 stars as I think the story line could have been deeper at the beginning, knowing what the relationships are like in the family.. the reasons behind all the distance and anger. But I think as the film progressed we did see these areas get filled with reasons, to a degree.
But it was a decent film and I'm glad I've caught up with the talk about it! I would watch it again, it seems like a film you'd probably get more out of each time you watched it..
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