The Descendants (15)
King of the American indie black comedy, Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt and Sideways) moves into more tender terrain with The Descendants; starring George Clooney as Matt King, a Hawaiian lawyer effectively rendered sole parent to two wayward daughters when his wife suffers a tragic accident. Already floundering, he's left reeling further when he discovers she's been keeping secrets, and as he can't confront her, must learn to live with some horribly unanswered questions.
It's weighty stuff, but Payne's exquisitely light touch enables moments of delicious comedy, via bleak humour, sassy dialogue and even slapstick (is Clooney capable of running in a non-comedic fashion?). Containing uniformly superb performances, The Descendants has something unusually profound to say about familial responsibility.
ShareThis