The Descendants

 ( 2011 Films ) 

The Descendants is a 2011 American tragicomedy film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the main role, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller in her film debut, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Michael Ontkean, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster, and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011, after premiering at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011.

Tracing the journey of attorney and land baron Matt King, who struggles with unexpected occurrences in his monotonous life, The Descendants was a critical and financial success, grossing $177 million against a $20 million budget and receiving acclaim for the performances of Clooney and Woodley, Payne's direction and writing, and Kevin Tent's editing. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards at the 84th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Payne, and Best Actor for Clooney, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards; Best Picture – Drama and Best Actor – Drama for Clooney.

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Plot Matthew "Matt" King is a Honolulu-based attorney and the sole trustee of a family trust law of of pristine land on Kauai. The land has great monetary value, but is also a family legacy. While Matt has ably managed his own finances (as his father did), most of his cousins have squandered their inheritances. With the trust expiring in seven years due to the rule against perpetuities, the King clan is pressuring Matt to sell the land for hundreds of millions of dollars. Amidst these discussions, a boating accident has rendered Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose. With Elizabeth hospitalized, Matt is forced to cope with his two troubled daughters, 10-year-old Scottie, who seeks attention by bullying other children, and 17-year-old Alex, who has a history of substance abuse and is away at a private boarding school on the Big Island. Elizabeth's coma is determined irreversible and her living will directs all life support be discontinued. When Matt tells Alex, she reveals that Elizabeth was having an affair, which had caused a major rift between mother and daughter.

Close family friends, Kai and Mark Mitchell, tell Matt that Elizabeth was unhappy and loved Brian Speer, a real estate agent. She also wanted a divorce. After Matt informs friends about Elizabeth's condition so they can say goodbye, he decides Brian should have an opportunity to do the same. He and the girls, along with Alex's slacker friend Sid, travel to Kauai to find Brian. While there, Matt's cousin, Hugh, mentions that Brian is brother-in-law to Don Hollitzer, the developer to whom the majority of the family wants to sell the land. Brian stands to make a small fortune from sales commissions for the properties that will be developed on the land. Matt and his daughters find Brian vacationing with his family at an oceanside cabin. Matt privately confronts Brian and informs him Elizabeth is dying, and offers him an opportunity to say goodbye. Matt asks Brian if Elizabeth loved him, and he says she did, but he only considered her a fling and still loves his wife and children. Brian then apologizes to Matt for the pain he caused and asks he not tell his wife.

Frustrated and fragile from recent events, Matt asks the doctor to explain Elizabeth's inevitable death to Scottie. Elizabeth's father, Scott, admonishes Matt for failing to be a more generous and loving husband. Withholding his wife's affair, Matt agrees with him, but Sid and Alex stand up for Matt. At the King family meeting, Matt overrules the majority vote of his cousins, preferring to keep the land and find a way around the rule against perpetuities. Shocked, Hugh warns Matt that the family will take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.

After learning about Brian's affair, his wife, Julie, comes to the hospital. She tearfully tells a comatose Elizabeth that she wants to hate her for "trying to destroy" her family, but that she has to forgive her for her own peace of mind. Matt comes to terms with his wife's infidelity and impending death. He kisses her goodbye, followed by Alex and Scottie. After she dies, they scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean off Waikiki.

Later, Matt, Scottie and Alex are at home eating ice cream and watching the documentary March of the Penguins, snuggling under a quilt that was on Elizabeth's hospital bed.

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Cast

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Production The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010. Most of the film was shot in Honolulu and around Hanalei Bay. The location used as Matt King's house lacked the banyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan. For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their land, the film used a 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 appearance as Matt King's secretary.

The private boarding school attended by Alex King was depicted as Mid-Pacific Institute, which is in Honolulu, Oahu. Kaui Hart Hemmings stated that Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which is located in Kamuela, Hawaii (the Big Island), was the inspiration for the private boarding school.

Postproduction began on June 14, and continued into February 2011. The film was screened at the Telluride, Toronto 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, and then November 18, 2011.

The soundtrack uses Hawaiian music, featuring artists including Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth, Jeff Peterson, Makana, Dennis Kamakahi, and Danny Carvalho. It was released by Sony Classical Records on November 15.

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Reception

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Box office

The Descendants opened in North America on November 16, 2011, in a limited release in 29 theaters, and grossed $1,190,096, averaging $41,038 per theater and ranking 10th at the box office. The film then had its wide release on December 9 in 876 theaters, and grossed $4,380,138, averaging $5,000 per theater and ranking seventh at the box office. The film was in cinemas for 156 days and its widest release in the United States was 2,038 theaters. The film ended up earning $82,584,160 domestically and $94,659,025 internationally for a total of $177,243,185.

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Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 268 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

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Top ten lists

The Descendants has appeared on these critics' top-10 lists for the best films of 2011:

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Accolades

Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Film Editing	Kevin Tent
Best Screenplay – International	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Actor – International	George Clooney
Best Use of Music in a Film !
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Most Promising Performer	Shailene Woodley
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Young Actor/Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Acting Ensemble	Cast
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Actor	George Clooney
Breakthrough Performance	Shailene Woodley
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Actor – Drama	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Supporting Female	Shailene Woodley
Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Actor	George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress	Judy Greer
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Editing
Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Film !
Best Director	Alexander Payne
Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley

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External links

• The Descendants at The Numbers

Categories: 2011 Films, 2011 Comedy-drama Films, 2011 American Films, 2010s English-language Films, American Comedy-drama Films, Best Drama Picture Golden Globe Winners, English-language Comedy-drama Films, Films About Adultery In The United States, Films About Father–daughter Relationships, Films About Sisters, Films Directed By Alexander Payne, Films Set In Hawaii, Films Set On Beaches, Films Shot In Hawaii, Films Whose Writer Won The Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award, Films With Screenplays By Alexander Payne, Fox Searchlight Pictures Films, Satellite Award–winning Films

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