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The Descendants
The Descendants

Flixster Users

79%liked it

Critics

89%liked it

George Clooney, Shailene Woodley
Nov 18, 2011
R, 1 hr. 50 min.

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Movie Info

Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Patricia Hastie, Grace A. Cruz
Director: Alexander Payne
Rated: R
Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min.
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Theater Release: Nov 18, 2011
DVD Release: Mar 13, 2012
Synopsis: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries. -- (C) Fox Searchlight

Critic Reviews

  • Tom Long, Detroit News
    One of the year's best films, a bubbly meditation on family and responsibility that weighs just enough to matter.
  • Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
    With so many balls in the air the temptation is to rush from one plot strand to another, but Payne takes the opposite approach. He also captures the complexity of emotional reactions that grief stirs.
  • Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
    It's a lovely, heartfelt character study of common, everyday people trapped on the horns of an uncommon but not unheard-of dilemma.
  • Anthony Lane, New Yorker
    The latest exhibit in Payne's careful dissection of the beached male, which runs from Matthew Broderick's character in "Election" to Jack Nicholson's in "About Schmidt" and Paul Giamatti's in "Sideways."
  • Eric D. Snider, Film.com
    This mature, well-acted dramatic comedy is deeply satisfying, maybe even cathartic.
  • Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
    A tough, tender, observant, exquisitely nuanced portrait of mixed emotions at their most confounding and profound -- all at play within a deliciously damp, un-touristy Hawaii that's at once lush and lovely to look at.
  • Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
    A splendid comedy-drama about a father coping with his comatose wife and difficult daughters represents high points for George Clooney and Alexander Payne.
  • Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
    Payne has always tended to look at society from the perspective of a curious, puzzled alien, but now the alien has grown moist-eyed and affectionate.
  • Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
    [Clooney] is a movie star who can't shake (and doesn't want to, one suspects) the baggage of that good fortune, yet consistently works to blend into the ensemble for the sake of story. The Descendants gives us his most emotional work to date.
  • Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
    It's more straightforward and sentimental than most Payne films, and at times it lands very close to sitcom territory. But it also has scenes as wrenching and as true as any onscreen this year.
  • Get more reviews for The Descendants at RottenTomatoes.com
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