Descendents

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Biography

The Descendants is a 2011 American Comedy-drama|comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne . The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is based on the The Descendants (novel)|novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings . The film stars George Clooney , Shailene Woodley , Judy Greer , Matthew Lillard and Beau Bridges , and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011 after being screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival .

In January 2012, The Descendants won two Golden Globe Awards and earned five nominations at the 84th Academy Awards including Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture , Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director and Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor for Clooney.

Plot

Matt King ( George Clooney ) is a Honolulu -based lawyer and the sole trustee of a family trust law|trust that controls 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kauai|Kaua'i . The trust will expire in seven years because of the rule against perpetuities , so the King family has decided to sell the land to Kaua'i native Don Holitzer for development. Just before family members are ready to formally endorse the deal, which Matt favors, a boating accident near Waikiki|Waikiki renders Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose.

Matt and Elizabeth have two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alex ( Shailene Woodley ). Matt is not very close to his daughters and refers to himself as the "back-up parent." With Elizabeth in a coma at The Queen's Medical Center|Queen's Hospital , he is forced to confront Scottie's inappropriate behavior with other children and Alex's drinking.

Matt learns that Elizabeth will never awaken from her coma, which means that under the terms of her Advance health care directive|living will she must be disconnected shortly from life support. He tells Alex, but not Scottie, that Elizabeth will not recover and must be allowed to die. Alex tells her father that Elizabeth was having an affair at the time of the accident. Matt confronts two family friends, Kai and Mark, and learns that Elizabeth's lover is Brian Speer ( Matthew Lillard ).

Matt decides to tell Brian that Elizabeth will soon be dead to give him a chance to visit her while she's still alive. He discovers that Brian is a real estate agent currently vacationing on Kauai|Kaua'i . After telling the family of Elizabeth's terminal prognosis, Matt, along with the girls and Sid (Alex's slacker friend), travels to Kaua'i to find Brian.

Matt goes jogging on the beach and passes a man that he recognizes as Brian. He trails him and sees him enter a cottage, owned by Matt's cousin, Hugh ( Beau Bridges ). Hugh tells him that Brian is Don Holitzer's brother-in-law, and if Matt and his family sell the land to Holitzer, Brian stands to gain a lot of money from commissions when the land is developed.

Matt goes to the cottage and introduces himself as Elizabeth's husband. He tells Brian that he is there to let him know that Elizabeth will die in a few days and he wants to give Brian a chance to say goodbye. Brian says that while Elizabeth loved him, the affair was only a fling for him, and he loves his wife and family. He tells Matt he is sorry for the pain he caused.

Matt meets with his many cousins to vote on the fate of the family's 25,000 acres. The majority vote for Don Holitzer, but Matt has second thoughts and decides to keep the land and find a different solution. Shocked, Hugh tells Matt that he and the other cousins may take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.

At Queen's Hospital, Elizabeth is taken off life support. Her father visits and tells Matt he should have been a more generous and loving husband to Elizabeth, whom he describes as a good and faithful wife. Later, Julie Speer arrives, telling Matt she is now aware of the affair between Elizabeth and her husband. Julie forgives Elizabeth, even though she wants to hate her for destroying her family. Alex and Scottie say their final goodbyes, then leave Matt alone with Elizabeth. Finally coming to terms with his wife's betrayal, Matt tenderly kisses her and tells her goodbye. Later, Matt, Alex, and Scottie scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean off Waikiki. The film closes with the three curled up on the living room couch, wearing Elizabeth's hospital blanket, eating ice cream, and watching March of the Penguins .

Cast

The film's credits are as follows:

George Clooney as Matt King

Shailene Woodley as Alexandra "Alex" King

Judy Greer as Julie Speer

Beau Bridges as Cousin Hugh

Nick Krause as Sid

Amara Miller as Scottie King

Matthew Lillard as Brian Speer

Robert Forster as Scott Thorson

Patricia Hastie as Elizabeth King

Mary Birdsong as Kai Mitchell

Rob Huebel as Mark Mitchell

Milt Kogan as Dr. Johnston

Laird Hamilton as Troy Cook

Michael Ontkean as Cousin Milo

Matt Corboy as Cousin Ralph

Celia Kenney as Reina

Production

The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010. Most of the film was shot in Honolulu and around Hanalei Bay .. Underwater photographer Don King (photographer)|Don King filmed a crucial scene where Alex King sinks below the surface of a pool and screams out her grief underwater. The house used as Matt King's house had one major flaw in that it lacked the banyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan. For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their beautiful land, the film used a 3,000-acre private cattle ranch on the south shore of Kauai, Kipu Ranch. Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of the novel on which the movie was based, had a Cameo appearance|cameo as Matt King's secretary.

Post-production began on June 14, and continued into February 2011. It screened at the Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals and was originally scheduled to have a limited release on December 16, 2011 but was moved to November 23, 2011 and then November 18, 2011.

The soundtrack uses Music of Hawaii|Hawaiian music , featuring artists including Gabby Pahinui , Ray Kane , Keola Beamer , Lena Machado , Sonny Chillingworth , Jeff Peterson (guitarist)|Jeff Peterson , and Reverend Dennis Kamakahi .

Reception

The Descendants scored an approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes . On Metacritic , the film scored an 84 based on 42 critics. Roger Ebert gave the film a perfect four star rating. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film a four star rating.

Top ten lists

The film has appeared on the following critics' top ten lists for the best films of 2011:

Critic	Publication	Rank
Todd McCarthy
Betsy Sharkey
Don Kaye
Lou Lumenick
Stephen Holden
Marshall Fine
Joe Neumaier
Ann Hornaday
Peter Travers
Corben Carpenter
Michael Phillips
The Mud Doctor
Anne Thompson
Peter Rainer
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Sean Axmaker
David Denby
Peter Hartlaub
Jaime N. Christley
Peter Paras
Richard T. Jameson
n/ a
Jack Gregson

Accolades

Awards Group !! Category !! Recipient !! Result
84th Academy Awards cite web	Best Picture	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor	pending
	Best Actor	George Clooney	pending
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	pending
	Best Editing	Kevin Tent	pending
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash	pending
American Film Institute cite news	Movies of the Year		won
Art Directors Guild cite news	Contemporary Film	small>(Production Design)	pending
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts cite web	Best Film& nbsp;– International		nom
	Best Screenplay& nbsp;– International	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash	nom
	Best Actor& nbsp;– International	George Clooney	nom
Boston Society of Film Critics Award cite web	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor	George Clooney	nom
Boston Society of Film Critics Award cite web	Best Use of Music in a Film		nom
65th British Academy Film Awards	BAFTA Award for Best Film	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor	pending
	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role	George Clooney	pending
	BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash	pending
Chicago Film Critics Association cite web	Best Picture		nom
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	nom
	Best Actor	George Clooney	nom
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash	nom
	Best Promising Performer	Shailene Woodley	nom
Critics' Choice Movie Awards cite web	Best Picture		nom
	Best Actor	George Clooney	won
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Young Actor/ Actress	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Acting Ensemble		nom
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	nom
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash	nom
Denver Film Critics Society cite web	Best Film		nom
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	nom
	Best Actor	George Clooney	nom
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	won
	Best Supporting Actress	Judy Greer	nom
	Best Breakout Star	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash	won
Detroit Film Critics Society cite web	Best Film		nom
	Best Actor	George Clooney	nom
	Breakthrough Performance	Shailene Woodley	nom
Florida Film Critics Circle cite web	Best Picture		won
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	won
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash	won
69th Golden Globe Awards
	Best Director
	Best Actor - Drama
	Best Supporting Actress
	Best Screenplay
Independent Spirit Awards 2011
	Best Director
	Best Supporting Female
	Best Screenplay
Los Angeles Film Critics Association cite web	Best Film		won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association cite web	Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash	nom
National Board of Review Awards 2011
	Best Actor
	Best Supporting Actress
	Best Adapted Screenplay
New York Film Critics Online cite news	Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash	won
Online Film Critics Society cite web	Best Picture		nom
	Best Actor	George Clooney	nom
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Adapted Screenplay		nom
Phoenix Film Critics Society cite web	Best Picture		nom
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	nom
	Best Actor in a Leading Role	George Clooney	nom
	Best Actress in a supporting role	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Screenplay: Adaptation	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash	nom
	Breakthrough Performance on Camera	Shailene Woodley	nom
	Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role: Female	Amara Miller	nom
Producers Guild of America Award cite web	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	nom
18th Screen Actors Guild Awards
18th Screen Actors Guild Awards	Best Actor
Satellite Awards cite web
	Best Actor
	Best Supporting Actress
	Best Director
	Best Adapted Screenplay
	Best Editing
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association cite web	Best Actor	George Clooney	won
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash	won
	Best Film		nom
	Best Director	Alexander Payne	nom
	Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	nom

Copyright Citations

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