The Descendant-Drinking Life In The Islands

I'm normally not a family drama movie kind of guy.  Too much...regular people stuff with lots of blah blah of the sort that doesn't provoke any interesting thought or moments of "hm".  However, direct Alexander Payne seems to be the magic bullet that makes it past my geek and snob sensibilities and says, "I can make you a people centered drama and have you like it."  With Sideways, mixing human slice of life drama with wine culture, he made me believe.  And somehow, just seeing the trailers for The Descendants had me falling under his spell once again.  Not that his movies are sappy, Waltons-esque affairs, not at all.  He clearly has affections for his characters, but puts them through painful gyrations of life not only to examine them, but to make fun of them and the human foibles we know oh so well.

In this case, George Clooney plays Matthew "Matt" King, attourney at law and trustee of a real estate inheritance that dates back to Hawaiian royalty and the original American settlers of the islands.  It is clear that he is a wealthy man, as is his family, but he still lives modestly, compared to his means.  The idea is that is how you save the trust, but not being a spendthrift.  Gotta say, I see the logic in that.  So he is quite comfortable and ensures his family is, too, but avoids spoiling them...in his eyes.

However, he is a hardworking attourney and as such, does spend lots of time in the office.  So his wife, who is the primary parent, suffers a boating accident which puts her in a coma.  So he has to come off his professional Mt Olympus to take care of his family and get them through this time of trauma.  He begins finding out things he previously was unaware of.  Like...he doesn't know his daughters.  They exhibit behavior that he finds perplexing, disturbing and he has no idea where it came from.  He finds out things about his wife that he previously was not aware of.  And while investigating all this, it puts his family's fortune into perspective, guiding his hand as trustee.

This is a quiet, whimsical movie about some quirky characters in a tough situation and beautiful settings.  As Matt King says right up front, living in Hawaii is like living anywhere else.  It is not a perpetual vacation.  Those living there  also have to deal with...life.

A slice of life, pineapple flavored with a hint of sea salt.

I recommend.