The Descendants (2011)

Sublime, with Oscar buzz to match, this story of a Hawaiian lawyer and his two daughters dealing with their mom's coma and new revelations about her life is by turns funny and sad, with first-rate performances, magnificent footage of at least two islands, and a soundtrack consisting entirely of native Hawaiian songs. George Clooney (last covered in The Ides of March) scores again as Matt King, the sole trustee of his family's 25,000 untouched coastal acres on Kauai, and the befuddled dad of the 17 and 10 year old angry girls, played by 20 year old Shailene Woodley (nominated for the Gotham Awards Breakthrough Award for this after over a dozen TV roles) and 11 year old Amara Miller, making her screen debut after auditioning along with 300 others. 19 year old Nick Krause is funny as smart-ass Sid, and equally good acting is contributed in selected scenes here and there by Robert Forster, Beau Bridges (Jack noticed Bridges got third billing in the end credits, even though he was only in the last third of the movie), Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and others. The stunning photography is by Phedon Papamichael, who has an impressive body of work, including Cool Runnings (1993) about the Jamaican bobsled team, Moonlight Mile (2002), Sideways (see below), Walk the Line (2005), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), W., and The Ides of March. You can hear clips from the guitar- and ukulele-heavy soundtrack from this link.

Jack and I are both fascinated with our own midwestern families' histories and this is full of family lore, old photos, and legacies, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings' story “The Minor Wars,” from her collection, House of Thieves, and then fleshed out into a novel called The Descendants. Here's the New York Times review. To avoid spoilers, just look at her picture so you'll recognize her cameo as Matt's secretary, then you can read the review or the book after you see the movie. The co-screenwriters, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash deserve credit, not only because Rash plays Dean Felton on Community, one of the half hour comedies I love on NBC Thursdays, but also because these characters are fully fleshed out.

Director/co-writer Alexander Payne (won Oscar for co-writing and nominated for directing Sideways (2004), also directed and wrote or co-wrote Citizen Ruth (1996), Election (1999), and About Schmidt (2002), all of which are wonderfully cynical) is one of those Hollywood auteurs whose work is eagerly anticipated. Now you don't have to wait. Run right out to your neighborhood theatre and see for yourself, as we did today on opening day here.