Director: Alexander Payne
I was not highly impressed by Alexander Payne's previous two films, About Schmidt and Sideways, I found those two films to be well-made and amusing but lacking in uniqueness or ambition. They were occasionally wonderful films, but not completely memorable. Payne's newest film, The Descendants, is a vast improvement. The tone of the film is sometimes relaxed and languid, but despite the Hawaiian setting, the subject is very serious. That combination of a serious plot with the supposedly relaxed Hawaiian setting, gives the movie a unique tone and also shines an equally unique light on Hawaii.
Hawaii is known as paradise, but I love that The Descendants shies away from showing famous Hawaiian beaches and oceans. Instead, the movie shows us real residents of the state and the real human problems they have to deal with. In this film, a family has to deal with a few messes, one being an affair that their now terminally ill mother was having, and another being a large piece of land that this family inherited. When a person is dying or dead, they will inevitably leave something behind for their relatives to sort out, and that's what this film is about. The movie is morbid in that sense, but in the end it's just a tale about a family that has to come together in the face of dealing with the issues that their mother and relatives left behind for them.
The Descendants is Payne's most mature film to date, even more so than About Schmidt. Death and family is an issue that deserves serious treatment, and finally Payne has matured enough to be able to tell a subtle story with a control of tone. There are humorous moments in this film that are completely out-of-place, so he didn't do it perfectly, but ultimately this is Payne's most satisfying film since Election. It's a somber tale of death and how those who are dead always linger a while longer even after they pass.
Grade: B+
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