The Descendents

By Christine Crowley, 21st Feb 2012 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1m8a_2c6/
Posted in Wikinut>Reviews>Film & TV>Drama

My thoughts on the movie The Descendents, starring George Clooney.

The Descendents

The Descendents is a dark movie filled with adultry, a tragic boat accident, two teenagers that are out of control, and, of course, George Clooney trying to hold it all together.

The Descendents was filmed in beautiful Hawaii and starts off with a tragic boat accident. George Clooney's wife is out in the ocean on a racing boat when the accident happens and she is in the hospital in a coma and not predicted to come out of the coma. The younger daughter is devastated and trying to cope with the loss of her mother. She is whiney and foul-mouthed and crying out for attention. The older daughter is at a boarding school on another island but returns after her father and sister visit her and find her drunk or high with some of her friends.

Eventually the older daughter tells her father that her mother was cheating on him with a local real estate agent. George goes running to a neighbor to see if they knew (they did). George tracks him down and visits the island of Lanai where the realtor is vacationing with his family. George meets his wife on the beach and starts a conversation with her. Later on he goes to their vacation bungalow and tells the realtor that he knows what he has done and tells him that his wife is in a coma in a hospital and not expected to survive. He does this because he wants the realtor to visit her in the hospital to say good-bye.

In another part of the film, George is an attorney and is a legal representative to a family group of his that inherited a lot of acreage on the island of Oahu. This is pristine acreage and includes a water front beach seen only in dreams. The family is planning on selling the property to a developer who wants to build a hotel, golf course, shops, etc. on this property. At a family meeting where he is to sign the agreement, he balks and doesn't sign it. A sigh of relief could be heard in the movie theater when he didn't sign.

A lot of the film takes place in the hospital room where his wife is in a coma. The daughters sit on the couch or talk to her or read to her. There is a dramatic moment when she is removed from life-support. A counselor tells the younger daughter that they are doing this and death is imminent.

Although this was a dark movie, I found it to be very well acted by all. The scenery is beautiful, of course, and the story is dramatic. I would recommend this movie to all.

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