by Kate Rohr
George Clooney has been an unquestioned demigod of beauty for years now. He’s the eternal bachelor, the suave ladies’ man, Mr. Cool and Confident. He is certainly not what comes to my mind when you imagine a father figure.
Until now, that is.
“The Descendants” is the story of Matt King (Clooney) and two daughters as they deal with the impending death of his comatose wife. At first, Matt is uncomfortable being the only one in charge. He calls himself “the backup parent,” and is mostly worried about how to raise his younger daughter, Scottie, who’s about 10 years old and dealing with her mother’s illness less than ideally. Alex, his 17 year old wild child (Shailene Woodley), has soaked up much of her mother’s vivaciousness without much affection towards her. This lack of affection is mostly due to the fact that Alex discovered her mother cheating on Matt, and hasn’t forgiven her for it. Thus begins this complicated and touching tale of a family just trying to keep it together.
The acting is fantastic – that surely can’t come as a surprise. Clooney just won a Golden Globe for his performance. But everyone expected that. I was far more impressed with Shailene Woodley, of ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” Perhaps I was only so moved by her performance because I expected so little (I’m not a huge fan of “Secret Life.” And by not a huge fan, I mean I despise it), but nonetheless I was moved. Alex is often rude and disrespectful to her unconscious mother and emotional father, but Woodley makes you understand, makes you empathize, and somehow you’re never angry with her.
My favorite part of “The Descendants” is when Matt has to break the news to Alex that her mother is dying. Alex is swimming in their dirty pool, filled with leaves and sticks and and gross water. When Matt tells her, Alex just dives right under the water and swims away. The fantastic moment is when the camera goes underwater with her, facing her as she swims through the debris of the pool as well as the debris of her family life and she screams underwater because it’s all just so much. But when she comes back up and faces her dad, she’s relatively calm. It is right there, in that moment, that we realize Alex’s strength and determination to keep it together for her emotional father and troubled little sister.
“The Descendants” is filled with meaning-packed moments just like that. But they’re not obscure little symbols – the meaning is obvious enough that you understand, but aren’t hit over the head with it. It’s artistic, beautiful and moving, so bring a box of Kleenex because you will definitely need it.
There was really only one thing I disliked about this film, and that’s Sid, this friend of Alex’s who tags along for most of their journey. I still have no idea why he was there, or what purpose he served. He’s just this awkward kid with greasy hair, hands that never seem to know what to do, and an irrepressible happiness. And usually, I like irrepressible happiness. But Sid is annoying and slightly offensive and never learns a single thing from the consequences of his moronic actions. I just didn’t get it, but oh well.
Luckily for “The Descendants,” Sid wasn’t enough to ruin the whole movie. In fact, relative to all the wonderful things going on around him, Sid was just an awkward bug on an otherwise clean and beautiful windshield. “The Descendants” gets a solid 9, and is definitely the best new movie I’ve seen this year.
