The Descendants

Simultaneously heartbreaking and life-affirming, this intelligently written, beautifully photographed, intensely emotional Oscar-winning family drama from writer-director Alexander Payne chronicles an absurdist, funny, and smart journey of self-discovery. Tracing his lineage back to Hawaiian ruler Kamehameha, wealthy Matt King (George Clooney) is a workaholic lawyer who's suddenly thrust into caring for his rebellious daughters—17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller)—after his wife (Pattie Hastie) suffers a waterskiing accident that puts her in a coma. In the midst of this crisis, Matt must not only decide how to dispose of a scenic 25,000-acre plot of extremely valuable, undeveloped land held in a family trust, but also how to deal with the disclosure from angst-filled Alexandra that she recently saw her mother with another man, a realtor named Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard). Based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the compelling screenplay is painful, provocative, and filled with subtle satire. Clooney never strikes a false note in a highly combustible mix of emotions involving guilt, anger, frustration, betrayal and bereavement, while Woodley is astonishing. Also featuring Robert Forster, Beau Bridges, and Judy Greer, The Descendants balances tough truth with compassionate understanding of what it means to love, to forgive, and to be a family. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Hawaiian Style” location featurette (17 min.), a “Working with Alexander” segment on director Alexander Payne (14 min.), an “Everybody Loves George” featurette on star George Clooney (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are “The Real Descendants” featurette on the real-life family who inspired the film (12 min.), an interview with Clooney and Payne (12 min.), the production segment “Working with Water” (11 min.), “The World Parade—Hawaii” silent short (10 min.), a segment on “Casting” (8 min.), deleted scenes (6 min.), “Waiting for the Light” additional footage (3 min.), three music videos, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for one of 2011's best films.] (S. Granger)