The Descendants: A simple story of a complicated life

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. We never know what life has in store for us but we carry on living and hoping to move on the path that we set for ourselves. But sometimes we fail to realise the little things in life where we should be paying attention. Working hard and focusing on a job might guarantee a successful career but also results in the loss of a happy family life. This is exactly the case in the 2011 film The Descendants which was directed by Alexander Payne and stars George Clooney.

Matt King is a lawyer who works hard and spends most of the hours of the day in his office. He barely sees his family which results in his daughters being emotionally disjointed from him and causes his wife, Elizabeth, to take up dangerous sports to keep herself occupied. One such activity results in a boating accident which lands his wife in the hospital with a coma in a critical condition. Matt struggles to cope with this tragedy as he tries to bring his family and friends together and keep them wary of the fact that they may never see Elizabeth again. Matt is also a land baron of a huge family property which was passed down through many generations of his family who are native to the islands of Hawaii. Matt is tasked with the job of signing off on a deal that will take the property away from his extended family and into the hands of foreign investors, something which no Hawaiian wants to see happen. Matt must make some difficult decisions as he learns new truths about his wife and struggles to cope with her condition and the rest of his life.

The film moves at a slow pace as the story unfolds itself. The plot has an appeal which makes it seem like a real story that could happen to anyone. The film has many comedic moments. In spite of dealing with grave topics, the film has a light tone which allows the audience to relax every now and then. The humour is a blend of deadpan and black which is subtle throughout the film. The use of traditional Hawaiian style music adds to the feel of the film as well.

Although the film does come across as boring, if one sits down to watch it from start to finish, the film is quite a nice story of difficult decisions to be made in life.