The Descendants movie review

I was turned off by the ad campaign for this movie originally. I hated that it used the phrase, "The race for the Oscars has begun." I thought, what am obnoxious way of telling us that a movie is going to be filled with Oscar-bait moments designed to appeal to the greatest common denominator in a critically-pleasing way. Plus, I gotta be honest, never have been a big fan of the Clooney. I'm not a player hater, the man has his charisma and talent, but he just never really floated my boat. But then I noticed four little words . . . Directed by Alexander Payne, and that was all it took for this fangirl to completely change her tune and want to see this shit pronto.

Before I delve into my actual review of the movie in question, I want to back up a bit to 2002. I went by myself to see About Schmidt, because I am a dork that likes to see all of the movies nominated for the big awards, and Jack Nicholson had just been nominated. As I recall, I wasn't looking forward to it all that much, mainly for the much of the same reasons that I was initially turned off by The Descendants . . . I thought it seemed Oscar-baity and full of itself, and I thought Nicholson was an overrated actor. But I ended up being blown away by it. I thought it was such a smart balance of humor and pathos. I loved all the detail and care that obviously went in to making each set piece of the movie be at once both completely authentic and deeply comical. I still maintain that it's the best work Nicholson has done before or since. And the Dear Ndugu letters can simply never be topped as the most ingenious way of injecting first person narrative into a movie, ever. Then came Sideways, and while for me it didn't quite top About Schmidt (an opinion that most disagree with me on, I will concede), it certainly cemented Alexander Payne for me as quite possibly my favorite contemporary filmmaker.

So it was with high, high expectations that I went into Payne's latest directorial effort. And once again, I fell in love. Alexander Payne has restored my faith in the movies, y'all! It's such a great feeling to fall in love with a movie, and for me it happens so rarely that when it does I just want to sing its praises from the rooftops. Most of my favorite aspects of About Schmidt also hold true for this movie . . . It has that
really smart, watchable blend of humor and pathos, the sets feel completely lived in and utterly real, and It's certainly the best work I've ever seen from The Clooney (obviously, the lone exception being his finely nuanced, sharply drawn work as George on The Facts of Life). It's easily my favorite movie in years, and if I was really going to sit down and rank them, I feel like About Schmidt, Sideways, and The Descendants would all earn a place in my all-time favorite top ten (just offhand, I know I would also put Raising Arizona, Heathers, The Big Lebowski, Fearless, Before Sunrise, and Thelma and Louise in there. Guess I'll have to think on the one remaining slot--but who am I kidding? It totes goes to Some Kind of Wonderful).

So, why? Why do his movies work with me so much? I will say that I could understand someone else not feeling quite as strongly about them; although I don't think I would ever understand somebody not liking them at all or not at least considering them good movies. For me, I think it's because the humor, and the pathos, and the sets, just all feel so incredibly organic. Like, this is what that specific person's house would really look like. Or, that is exactly how that character would respond to this situation--those are the exact words he would use. Nothing feels drummed up for dramatic effect. To me, Payne's movies make the pain and the humor of everyday life cinematic narratives. As opposed to giving the audience a cinematic narrative, and then asking us to see ourselves or real life reflected in it. His movies just feel like real life to me.

I think part of the reason for this lies in the fact that he apparently spends a lot of time looking for novels to adapt into movies. I believe all of Payne's movies I've been referencing have been adapted from novels. Also, Election was as well, and I will say that that one does not quite make my all-time best list because it's more of a satire than the other three, but it's certainly a very good satire. I love to read, and many times have thought to myself, "Why doesn't someone turn this into a movie?" There does seem to be a dearth of good ideas out there when fucking Disney rides, shitty TV shows and nostalgic toys are the basis for many a contemporary movie script (and I say this as someone who loves Disney rides, watched Speed Racer as a child and owned my share of Transformers, or at least had a brother who did). So hallelujah for someone realizing that the best way to tell a compelling story onscreen is to start with a compelling novel. And for realizing that just because it sold a bajillion copies, doesn't mean it's necessarily the most compelling or original source material, either. The quieter novels have their merits.

I know I didn't end up actually saying that much about the movie itself. i think that's because I do feel Payne has hit on, for me, the winning combination of making a movie I want to see, so much so that the specific details hardly matter. It's a great movie, go see it, and I'ma leave it at that.