Alexander Payne, director and scriptwriter of The Descendants, goes to Hawaii after visiting the wine country in California in Sideways (his last motion picture) to tell a story about Matt King – a middle aged lawyer and land baron going through some difficult times.
The cinematography by Phedon Papamichael not only is skillful in following the narrative flow but also captures the beauty of Hawaii. However, this is not a Hawaii-Five 0 travelogue. The opening shots with a voice over by George Clooney who plays Matt King not only show us the picturesque island chain of Hawaii but defy the stereotype that everyone in Hawaii is laying on the beaches in luxury - by revealing images of the homeless, the poor and the indigenous people--both the natives and the haoles. Matt King colorfully concurs that this is a myth.
Matt discovers that his wife Elisabeth (Patricia Hastie) was having an affair before a tragic boating accident. She is about to be taken off of life support and Matt will now have to care for their two teenage daughters, the young Scottie (Amara Miller) and teenager Alexandra (Shailene Woodley).
Payne’s script expands upon The Descendants by novelist Kaui Hart Hemmings, who has a walk on part in the film as Matt’s secretary. Matt owns 25,000 acres of unspoilt land on Kauai, making him one of the largest landowners in Hawaii. His cousins want him to sell it and the plan includes creating a huge tourist resort. The land, according to the novel , was inherited from Matt’s “progressive and entrepreneurial missionary” relatives through a marriage to a Hawaiian princess. This would have been before the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893 to make way for the island state to be annexed to the USA. Behind this movement were “mission boys” and entrepreneurs, although it is not clear that it was around the time that Matt King’s relative married Hawaiian royalty.
The beautiful music in the film includes songs written by Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Queen of Hawaii, who abdicated under protest to prevent bloodshed in what was called a forced annexation.
Alexander Payne has written some excellent and authentic dialogue in this engaging story about a man who has to come to terms with some profound issues in mid-life. His daughters help and Alexandra’s friend Sid (Nick Krause) adds some comic relief. The film showcases excellent performances by Clooney, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, & Shailene Woodley.
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