{"id":13244,"date":"2011-10-21T03:09:49","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T02:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=13244"},"modified":"2012-09-01T07:01:28","modified_gmt":"2012-09-01T06:01:28","slug":"the-descendants-reviews-lff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2011\/10\/21\/the-descendants-reviews-lff\/","title":{"rendered":"LFF 2011: The Descendants"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A comedy-drama set in Hawaii marks a triumphant return for director Alexander Payne<\/a> after a seven year absence and provides George Clooney with arguably his best ever role.<\/p>\n

Adapted from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, it explores the thorny emotional dilemmas facing landowner Matt King (George Clooney) after his wife is involved in a serious boating accident.<\/p>\n

He also has to deal with his two young daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) and the lucrative sale of ancestral land but when secrets emerge about the recent past he is forced to reexamine his life.<\/p>\n

It seems odd that after all the critical and awards success of his last film, Alexander Payne should take seven years to make another, but the late 2000s indie collapse may have played a part.<\/p>\n

I’m happy to report that The Descendants\u00a0maintains his remarkable run of films that begun with Citizen Ruth (1996) and continued with Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002) and Sideways (2004).<\/p>\n

Like those it masterfully blends sharp wit with heartfelt emotion, exploring the nuances of family relationships with an intelligence rarely seen in mainstream US cinema.<\/p>\n

This has been a Payne trademark but the setting here provides a distinct visual flavour as well as an integral feature of the story, whilst the ensemble cast is outstanding.<\/p>\n

Clooney in the lead role gives arguably his best ever performance, dialling down his natural charm to convey the confusion of a husband and father confronted with some harsh emotional truths about those he loves and – most importantly – himself.<\/p>\n

Reminiscent of his best acting work in Out of Sight, Solaris, Michael Clayton and Up in the Air, he conveys a certain vulnerability whilst delivering the comic moments with consummate skill.<\/p>\n

He is ably supported by what is one of the best supporting casts in recent memory.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The young actresses who play his immediate family members are terrific.<\/p>\n

Woodley is a convincingly tempestuous but wise teenager, Miller as her younger sister is believably innocent and\u00a0Clooney’s familial chemistry with them form the bedrock of the film.<\/p>\n

There are also memorable turns from Robert Forster as a gruff father-in-law, Beau Bridges as a relaxed relative (seemingly channelling his brother Jeff as a Hawaiian Lebowski), Nick Krause as one of the daughter’s boyfriend, Matthew Lillard as an opportunistic real estate agent and Judy Greer as his loving wife.<\/p>\n

None of these finely tuned performances would be possible without the screenplay by Payne (with credited co-screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) which laces the gravity of the central situation with some brilliantly executed humour.<\/p>\n

The way the central dramatic scenario is blended with the characters and\u00a0the wider themes of inheritance and time feel like\u00a0a masterclass in screenwriting.<\/p>\n

Payne’s directorial execution is exemplary.<\/p>\n

He has always demonstrated a keen eye for small, revealing details:\u00a0the ballot papers in Election, the letters in About Schmidt or the TV clip of The Grapes of Wrath in Sideways.<\/p>\n