Rating of
4/4
George Clooney Deserves an Oscar
mitchellyoung - wrote on 02/15/12
The Descendants is Alexander Payne at his best. Like previous Payne works, it is a moving meditation on human emotion, told with earnest integrity and with enough humorous asides and quirky moments to still succeed as a dramatic comedy. George Clooney gives one of his all-time best performances as a grieving husband and father, but the film is also populated by a supporting cast that adds to the rich texture of the film. The movie's best moments, and most relevant moments, lie in the scenes where the characters simply react as real people and don't feel like they're speaking some Hollywood-ized manipulative gibberish. These scenes deal with themes of grief, acceptance, and family in a straightforward and surprisingly moving way.
