Descending

Sometimes, it takes a thousand words to tell a story; other times, all it takes is one good picture to tell it better than any words. The best scene in the limited release movie The Descendants is the panoramic view of virgin Hawaiian land, 25 million acres of it handed down through the generations to what appears to be an all-haolie conglomeration of off-spring of Hawaiian royalty determined to get rich off selling that inheritance to the highest bidder. The land is in a trust solely administered by George Clooney’s character and it is his decision to make whether to sell the land to developers, and, if that is the decision, to which developers. Meanwhile, George’s screen wife is in a boating accident and brain dead, so he also has to honor her living will and pull the plug.

Stressful time poorly presented by mediocre acting, especially by George Clooney, who stands to the side of the wrenching emotional aspects of the film and portrays a distraught husband and father, rather than becoming one. A good actor doesn’t play the part, s/he becomes the character, a concept that eludes this cast and degenerates the film into a farce.

This is a movie I would have walked out on but for my movie buddy, who stays until the bitter end of even the most awful movie – and this is one of the most awful movies I’ve endured in a while. It’s not just the story, which could have ended with George turning to his cousin after viewing the panorama of unspoiled land and saying, “Nope, not going to sell it.” It could have ended when George acknowledges the doctor’s prognosis and decision to honor the living will and pull the plug. It could have ended with George slapping the crap out of his filthy-mouthed typical teen daughter, who richly deserves it. It could have ended with George telling Syd, his daughter’s boy friend, not only no, but hell no: he is not going to be blackmailed by his filthy-mouthed teen daughter into dragging this worthless piece of humanity with them through the death process of his soon-to-be deceased wife. It could have ended with him making the decision not to ruin anyone else’s lives by confronting the realtor who had an affair with George’s soon-to-be-deceased wife.

It should have ended when the back cover of the book closed, but someone decided it would make a good film. Bad decision; bad film.