'The Descendants'

'The Descendants' (R) (4 STARS) (Highest Rating)

Writers: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and Alexander Payne based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster, Amara Miller, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Michel Ontkean

Maybe it is the Hawaiian setting but I felt really at ease and satisfied during the perceptive and wonderfully acted family drama "The Descendants".
This is a movie that has grown on me hours after I have seen it and I can't get it out of my head. This is a simply told but touching drama that is laid back and that is it's greatest attribute. You also have two of the best performances of the year in Shailene Woodley and George Clooney. This movie could have been an annoying, sappy "Terms of Endearment" rip off but this is one of the best family dramas I have ever seen and it might be better than "Terms".

George Clooney again knocks it out of the park as Matt King whose wife is on life support after a boating accident. His wife is in a coma and not getting better and Matt has to go tell family members and break the news to his two young daughters. His oldest daughter Alexandra is estranged from Matt and had a fight with her mother before the accident. I will not be spoiling the movie for you because it is in the trailer but Matt's wife Eliazabeth was cheating on him. He wants to find the guy she cheated with and of course Matt doesn't really know what he will do when he sees him.

Also Matt's family has owned land in Hawaii since the 1800's and there might be a sale of the land by Matt and his many couisins. So Matt has a lot on his mind especially with raising his daughters. This material is all handled smartly with no big, pronounced scenes of melodrama. The movie is leisurely paced and that is good because we can soak in the scenery of Hawaii and get to know the characters well. I always felt that the dialogue sounded real. This is a great look at family and it's struggles and it is an emotional film that sneaks up on you. The movie has honest emotions, humor and great performances.

It is also one of the most realistic looks at family and a father and his daughters and that credit mostly goes to the performances of Clooney and Shailene Woodley. I have said it before but George Clooney never looks like he is acting. He is likable here as he always is and he is so natural and cool. I have never seen an actor charm us with his easy nature and delivery more than Clooney has since James Garner. Shailene Woodley is even better at being natural than Clooney and it is such a wonderful performance. She has created a real teenage girl and she also doesn't look like she is acting. These are two subtle and moving performances and both actors made me love their two characters.

There is also an easygoing and great bunch of supporting performances from Judy Greer, Robert Forster, Amara Miller as the younger daughter Scotty and a funny turn by Nick Krause as Sid who is a friend of Alexandra's. I also was amused by the performance of Matthew Lillard as the man Elizabeth cheated with. Lillard used to be an obnoxious actor in so many bad comedies but here he is fantastic, a performance that can jump start a better career.
The Hawaii setting also helps this movie and the movie does some great things with it's Hawaiian locations. I felt like I really was in Hawaii and I felt a kinship with this family.

By the end and well after I have seen this movie I find it actually flawless. This is a much superior family drama than almost every one I have seen in decades. It ranks right up there with "Shoot the Moon" and "Ordinary People" as my three favorites. George Clooney just keeps getting better and he can do no wrong lately. Also Shailene Woodley is going to be a major actress just like Jennifer Lawrence and Hailee Steinfeld and she will become better and bigger than Steinfeld. You can expect to see her at Academy Award time.

The writer and director of "The Descendants" is the talented and smart Alexander Payne. He has written two wonderful and classic comedies in "Election" and "Sideways". Payne lost his way a little bit with "About Schmidt" in 2004. I like that movie but it is not as memorable and great as "Sideways" and "Election". Now with "The Descendants" he is back on the top as one of the best writers in Hollywood. Part of the easy going nature of this movie is due to Payne's patience and great story writing just like he accomplished with "Sideways".

"The Descendants" is a beautiful movie that choked me up near the end and it creates honest tears instead of yanking it out of us with histrionics. There are so many scenes that are handled the right way with truth, beauty and emotion. There is an amazing, beautiful and powerful scene at the end credits. It is simple but one of the most postive and life affirming endorsements for family that I have ever seen and it is also a very happy way to end this wonderful drama. "The Descendants" is easily one of the best movies of the year.