The Descendants: A Different Kind of Paradise

This movie could not have been more perfectly named; it works on so many levels; the descendants of Hawaiian royalty descending into the depths of modern society. It was also perfectly placed. I loved that the characters had such a connection with a land known as a get away, but that, as this film proves, is really just like everywhere else…screwed up.  Had the movie been set anywhere else, the message would have been diluted.

For those of you who were fans of George Clooney playing the suave lady’s man, or the cool con, in the beautiful Italian suits and always winning the girl, you are missing out on something way better. He is a wonderful wreck. In a movie where everything seems to go wrong for a man who is lost, lovable, and well, normal, Clooney plays the border-line excellently. Matt King flirts between anger and sadness, father and “cheated” husband, strong head of a family and total confusion with very little grace, but you still love him. Clooney’s struggle was mostly internal, but also well portrayed to the audience without overdoing the dramatics. He just was.

The monologue at the beginning worried me a bit. I am not a huge fan of the main character talking to the audience, because, mostly, it ruins the illusion of watching reality. I understand the necessity for it, but I still wish there had been another way to do it. Once we got out of his head though and into the story it mostly stopped, which I am thankful for because it wasn’t needed.

The girls were good too, even though I am personally not a fan of Shailene Woodly in The Secret Life of an American Teenage, she proved that it may be just because The Secret Life sucks. I was pleasantly surprised by her portrayal of the screwed up teen, who really just loved her dad. She should ditch that sideshow and focus on film, she could be great one day.  

Noteworthy:

The ending. The main characters are just sitting on a couch watching a movie narrated by Morgan Freeman, eating ice cream, and nothing happens. You are waiting for someone to say or do something, or even for them to look at each other and smile, to signal closure, but no one does, because there is none. They are connected and disconnected. They made it to the end but it wasn’t easy and it won’t start to be easy. Genius.