Matt (Clooney)'s a wealthy, hardworking, but out-of-touch with his family's 'feelings' and 'challenges,' Dad has to suddenly wake up and reassemble his life when his thrill-seeking wife suffers a traumatic head injury; her ultimate recovery uncertain. His teen and pre-teen daughters are almost unfamiliar, though not hostile, to him, and he must find a way to connect in this crisis. All this is set in both the bustling urban and unspoiled Hawaii - and to further complicate matters, As executor of an estate including a huge and gorgeous swath of virgin Hawaiian seashore granted to his great great great grandparents by the King, from whom his family is descended, Matt has an imminent deadline to reluctantly sell the property to developers. Oh, he also finds his wife hid secrets that suddenly arise, as well. Clooney is well-suited to this role. He's charming, noble, ethical, a bit in denial and has some issues with empathy and affection, but is a good guy we can all admire and with whom we can sympathize. To me, a standout in a supporting role, was young Nick Krause, who plays a 'surfer dude-type' friend of Matt's teenage daughter, alternately riling the adults and offering gems of authentic teen wisdom and support that oft times steal scenes from the other cast members. He was a joy. While I appreciate the nod to Hawaiian heritage and the references to island history and culture, I do wish the Hawaiian music, which plays almost continuously, would have been less ubiquitous. It becomes distracting at times. A great film all-around. Worth a look. I bought the dvd and love it more each viewing.

The Descendants does a great job of dealing with a variety of complex emotions. It manages to maintain a lighthearted feel, despite the dark and depressing subject matter. Each one of the performances feels genuine and heartfelt, and I felt myself getting caught up in it all. This definitely deserved the Academy Award nomination.

The DescendantsEven though the premise floats on intense tone and serious family drama, the quality that attracts the viewers is the hint of a comic personality in each and every character that comes out of them even in such circumstances. The Descendants is one of those rare films that totally resonates with reality and practicality of it and still endures the dramatic side of it with genuine emotions, pragmatic characters and unpredictable script. Alexander Payne is completely aware of the world he is projecting onto the screen and uses it in a perfect way to connect the audience and offer enough content to feed them for around 2 hours. And as far as performance is concerned, George Clooney is at its best, as a disturbed and often surprisingly funny guy in a tragic stage of his life; he is carrying the whole movie on his shoulder. The Descendants is a movie that allows audience to rethink about it and keeps them on hold by unfolding the plot on each phase in a perfect way possible.

Don't get me wrong. It makes for a convincing viewing. But I wouldn't call it anything more than a decent, Payne-directed film.All the ingredients are there for a Payne piece, the tortured (usually male) lead character, the cast around him that mean to help but represent problems in their own right, and an absolute disaster taking place and how that lead character copes with it: an issue that often involves more than his only self.The film is pleasant to watch, the acting is very good, especially with that young Woodley actress (elder daughter) who is simply the best on screen really, absolutely nailed a difficult role that required more than just standard text-reading. The characters are interesting and believable; always that depth about the characters with Payne; and there aren't any weak parts really per se during the film, as established earlier it makes for a nearly 2hour long smooth and pleasant viewing, with the different sides of the story connecting well at the center of the plot...but it just isn't touching for one, never finds its way to the viewer's heart the way it should, the film seems more like an interesting network of influences and characters and motivations really than a heart-wrenching dramatic piece (which it obviously does seem to mean to approach).It's good, but really just good, nothing more. 7/10.