The Descendants

The Descendants
Teaser poster
Directed by	Alexander Payne
Produced by	Jim Burke Alexander Payne Jim Taylor
Screenplay by	Alexander Payne Nat Faxon Jim Rash
Based on	The Descendants  by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Starring	George Clooney Shailene Woodley Amara Miller Beau Bridges Judy Greer Matthew Lillard Robert Forster
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Cinematography	Phedon Papamichael
Editing by	Kevin Tent
Studio	Ad Hominem Enterprises
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s)	September 10, 2011 (2011-09-10) (Toronto) November 18, 2011 (2011-11-18) (United States[1])
Running time	115 minutes [2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20,000,000 (est)[3]
Box office	$177,243,185[4]

The Descendants is a 2011 American drama^[5] film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard and Robert Forster, and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011^[1] after being screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.^[5]

Tracing the journey of land baron Matt King who struggles with unexpected occurrences in his monotonous life, The Descendants was released to positive reviews from critics and won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as two Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture – Drama and Best Actor – Drama for Clooney.

[edit] Plot

Matt King (George Clooney) is a Honolulu-based lawyer and the sole trustee of a family trust that controls 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kauai. Though he has been able to manage his money, most of Matt's cousins are broke from squandering their share of the inheritance. The trust will expire in seven years because of the rule against perpetuities, so the King family has decided to sell the land to Kaua'i native Don Holitzer for development. Just before family members are ready to formally endorse the deal, a boating accident near Waikīkī renders Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose.

The Kings have two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alex (Shailene Woodley). With Elizabeth in a coma at Queen's Hospital, he is forced to confront Scottie's inappropriate behavior with other children and Alex's destructive ways. Matt learns that Elizabeth will never awaken from her coma, which means that under the terms of her living will she must be disconnected shortly from life support. When Matt tells Alex the news, she reveals that Elizabeth was having an affair at the time of the accident, which has caused a major rift between mother and daughter.

One of Matt's friends, Kai Mitchell, says that Elizabeth had planned to leave Matt for her lover; later, Kai's husband, Mark, tells him that the man is named Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard). Matt decides to find Brian and convince him to visit Elizabeth while she is still alive, learning that he is a real estate agent currently vacationing in Kauai. After telling the family of Elizabeth's terminal prognosis, Matt, along with the girls and Alex's slacker friend Sid (Nick Krause), travel to Kauai. During a jog on a beach, Matt recognizes Brian and follows him to a cottage owned by Matt's cousin, Hugh (Beau Bridges). Hugh tells him that Brian is Holitzer's brother-in-law, and if Matt and his family sell their land to Holitzer, Brian stands to gain a lot of money from commissions when it is developed.

Later that evening, Matt and Alex return to Brian's cottage and, while Alex distracts Brian's wife Julie (Judy Greer), Matt finally confronts Brian and tells him about his wife's condition. Brian says that while Elizabeth loved him, the affair was only a fling for him, and he loves his wife and family. He tells Matt he is sorry for the pain he caused.

Matt, Scottie, Alex and Sid return home. At Matt's request, at the hospital, Scottie is finally told of her mother's impending death by a grief counselor, allowing her, too, to begin her process of farewell.

After Elizabeth is disconnected, her father, Scott (Robert Forster), together with his wife and son, comes to the hospital to say his last goodbye's. He accuses Matt of not having been a more generous and loving husband to Elizabeth, whom he describes as a good and faithful wife. Matt agrees with him, choosing not to disclose the details of her affair. Sid and Alex both unexpectedly come to Matt's defense.

Later, Matt meets with his cousins to vote on the fate of the land. The majority vote in favor of selling to Holitzer, but Matt has second thoughts and decides to keep the land and find a different solution. Shocked, Hugh tells Matt that he and the other cousins may take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.

Brian's wife Julie, after learning of the affair and realizing that Brian will not visit Elizabeth, comes to the hospital, partly feeling that decency obliges her to. She tearfully and angrily tries to forgive Elizabeth, though she wants to hate her for destroying her family.

Alone by his wife's hospital bed after Julie leaves, Matt finally comes to terms with his wife's act of treachery, and tenderly kisses her goodbye. He is followed by Alex and Scottie.

Matt, Alex, and Scottie scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean off Waikiki. The film closes with the three curled up on the living room couch, eating ice cream, and watching March of the Penguins while sharing the quilt that was on Elizabeth's death bed.

[edit] Cast

• George Clooney as Matthew "Matt" King
• Shailene Woodley as Alexandra "Alex" King
• Beau Bridges as Cousin Hugh
• Judy Greer as Julie Speer
• Nick Krause as Sid
• Amara Miller as Scottie King
• Matthew Lillard as Brian Speer
• Robert Forster as Scott Thorson
• Patricia Hastie as Elizabeth King
• Mary Birdsong as Kai Mitchell
• Rob Huebel as Mark Mitchell
• Milt Kogan as Dr. Johnston
• Laird Hamilton as Troy Cook
• Michael Ontkean as Cousin Milo
• Matt Corboy as Cousin Ralph
• Celia Kenney as Reina

[edit] Production

The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010.^[6] Most of the film was shot in Honolulu and around Hanalei Bay.^[7] Underwater photographer Don King filmed a scene where Alex King sinks below the surface of a pool and screams out her grief underwater.^[7] The house used as Matt King's house had a flaw in that it lacked the banyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan.^[7] For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their land, the film used a 3,000-acre private cattle ranch on the south shore of Kauai, Kipu Ranch. Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of the novel on which the movie was based, had a cameo as Matt King's secretary.

Post-production began on June 14, and continued into February 2011.^[8] It screened at the Telluride, Toronto^[9] and New York film festivals and was originally scheduled to have a limited release on December 16, 2011, but was moved to November 23, 2011^[10] and then November 18, 2011.^[1][11]

The soundtrack uses Hawaiian music, featuring artists including Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth, Jeff Peterson, and Reverend Dennis Kamakahi.^[12]

[edit] Reception

The Descendants received positive reviews upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes it scored an approval rating of 89%.^[13] The website's consensus is: "Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace." On Metacritic, the film scored an 84 based on 42 critics.^[14] Roger Ebert gave the film a perfect four star rating.^[15] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film a four star rating.^[16]

[edit] Top ten lists

The film has appeared on the following critics' top ten lists for the best films of 2011:

[edit] Accolades

[edit] Home media

Two home video formats of The Descendants were released March 13, 2012:^{[citation needed]} a one-disc standard DVD and a two disc Blu-ray combo pack (Blu-ray + DVD + digital copy).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Descendants

• Official website
• The Descendants at the Internet Movie Database
• The Descendants at AllRovi
• The Descendants at Box Office Mojo
• The Descendants at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Descendants at Metacritic
• The Descendants at The Numbers
• Works by or about Kaui Hart Hemmings in libraries (WorldCat catalog)