This is the Pure Movies review of The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne and starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Grace A. Cruz, Kim Gennaula and Karen Kuioka Hironaga. Elizabeth King is in a coma. Not much of an acting part for poor Patricia Hastie, bless her, but she does a valiant job under tricky circumstances. Unfortunately for our unconscious star, while the action taking place around her is entertaining enough, and even touches on raw humanity in places, it ultimately rings slightly hollow. I’d like to say that attractive Elizabeth creates that hollow - her intriguing and charismatic personality leaving a feeling of clutching emptiness at the core of the narrative. But in fact, it is hard to care much about the pretty, neglected wife and her predictable affair. Perhaps it wasn’t such great acting after all, Liz. Sorry.
- 6/4/2012
- by Emma Reynolds
- Pure Movies
Oscar winning movie (Best Adapted Screenplay), The Descendants hit DVD and Blu-ray in the UK yesterday and to celebrate, we’ve got this exclusive featurette from the movie with the rather intriguing title ‘Everybody Loves George’. It basically has all the members of the cast telling us why George Clooney is such a top bloke! It features some unseen footage of them playing around on set and is a really nice little video.
The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie, is directed by Alexander Payne and you can order your copy of the movie here.
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced...
The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie, is directed by Alexander Payne and you can order your copy of the movie here.
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced...
- 5/22/2012
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
It used to be, Tom Hanks was the everyman who took us into one film after another, giving us a chance to experience the mundane to the fantastic. That role in many ways has been ceded to George Clooney, who displays in one film after another, a charismatic vulnerability that makes you root for him regardless of the circumstances. He brings that empathy to Matt King, the lead figure in The Descendants, out this week from 20th Century Home Entertainment.
Yeah, we all now he was nominated for Best Actor but if you haven’t seen the film; you can watch the video and see the actor lose himself in the character. King is married, with two teen children, and has his world rocked, first by the wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) getting sick and then learning she has been having an affair. While she lingers in the hospital, he goes...
Yeah, we all now he was nominated for Best Actor but if you haven’t seen the film; you can watch the video and see the actor lose himself in the character. King is married, with two teen children, and has his world rocked, first by the wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) getting sick and then learning she has been having an affair. While she lingers in the hospital, he goes...
- 3/22/2012
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: March 13, 2012
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Loved by critics and audience members, The Descendants scored a worthy Academy Award and two Golden Globes, including Best Picture.
From writer/director Alexander Payne (Sideways), the movie stars George Clooney (The Ides of March) as businessman Matt King, who has a lot on his plate: he’s on deadline to bring his extended family (including Beau Bridges, Columbus Circle) together to sell their land in Hawaii, his wife (Patricia Hastie, Princess Kaiulani) is in a coma after a boating accident and his daughter’s (Shailene Woodley, TV’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager) angry because she knows her mom was cheating on her dad.
The cast also includes Judy Greer (Barry Munday), Matthew Lillard (Spooner), Nick Krause (How to Eat Fried Worms) and newcomer Amara Miller.
Rated R, The Descendants is...
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Loved by critics and audience members, The Descendants scored a worthy Academy Award and two Golden Globes, including Best Picture.
From writer/director Alexander Payne (Sideways), the movie stars George Clooney (The Ides of March) as businessman Matt King, who has a lot on his plate: he’s on deadline to bring his extended family (including Beau Bridges, Columbus Circle) together to sell their land in Hawaii, his wife (Patricia Hastie, Princess Kaiulani) is in a coma after a boating accident and his daughter’s (Shailene Woodley, TV’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager) angry because she knows her mom was cheating on her dad.
The cast also includes Judy Greer (Barry Munday), Matthew Lillard (Spooner), Nick Krause (How to Eat Fried Worms) and newcomer Amara Miller.
Rated R, The Descendants is...
- 2/27/2012
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
George Clooney gives the performance of his life as a man in search of a moral compass on a Hawaii that is no paradise
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to welcome a new film by the gifted writer-director Alexander Payne, especially as The Descendants, his first movie since Sideways eight years ago, is so good, and in so many ways. His early pictures centred on the troubled lives, doubts and self-deceptions of middle-class people in his native Nebraska: the teacher played by Matthew Broderick getting into hot water of his own making in Election; the grumpy retired insurance executive (Jack Nicholson at his most engagingly misanthropic) coming to terms with the death of his wife in About Schmidt. In Sideways, Payne moved west to California, where two uneasy former college friends (one divorced, one about to marry) embark on a disastrous wine-tasting vacation.
In the early 1930s, Edmund Wilson,...
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to welcome a new film by the gifted writer-director Alexander Payne, especially as The Descendants, his first movie since Sideways eight years ago, is so good, and in so many ways. His early pictures centred on the troubled lives, doubts and self-deceptions of middle-class people in his native Nebraska: the teacher played by Matthew Broderick getting into hot water of his own making in Election; the grumpy retired insurance executive (Jack Nicholson at his most engagingly misanthropic) coming to terms with the death of his wife in About Schmidt. In Sideways, Payne moved west to California, where two uneasy former college friends (one divorced, one about to marry) embark on a disastrous wine-tasting vacation.
In the early 1930s, Edmund Wilson,...
- 1/29/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
We’ve been given this absolutely fantastic extended featurette which is simply George Clooney and Director Alexander Payne talking about The Descendants but it’s so much more than that as they touch on their own experiences on movies and some of their favourite actors and experiences in their own careers.
The featurettes 12 minute featurette focuses on 4 main areas, Directing Drama and Comedy, Acting and Character and Shooting Style but Clooney gives us some great insights into working on ER and it’s so nice to hear both of them talking about their own little experiences on different sets and what they obviously love to do.
The Descendants has just been nominated for (among others), Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director so this is definitely one to watch. If you’ve not seen our review of the movie, have a read here after you’ve watched the below which...
The featurettes 12 minute featurette focuses on 4 main areas, Directing Drama and Comedy, Acting and Character and Shooting Style but Clooney gives us some great insights into working on ER and it’s so nice to hear both of them talking about their own little experiences on different sets and what they obviously love to do.
The Descendants has just been nominated for (among others), Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director so this is definitely one to watch. If you’ve not seen our review of the movie, have a read here after you’ve watched the below which...
- 1/27/2012
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Alexander Payne has toned down his masculinity-crisis shtick, and lost something in the process
This sweet, sad new film from Alexander Payne holds a promise of gentleness that is fulfilled, and a promise of complexity that isn't. Starring George Clooney as a wealthy Hawaiian lawyer whose wife is in a coma, The Descendants has a kind of surface difficulty, but is distinctly soft-centred, lenient and sentimental compared to the three scabrous and brilliant pictures that have cemented Payne's reputation over the last decade.
It is commonplace to refer to Payne's films as bittersweet, and to the director himself as American cinema's prose-poet of the male menopause. In Election (1999), Matthew Broderick is the middle-aged schoolteacher who conceives an obsession with a pushy teen pupil – a career-best performance from Reese Witherspoon – whose chances of becoming school-president he attempts to destroy . In About Schmidt (2002), Jack Nicholson's lonely and cantankerous widower embarks on...
This sweet, sad new film from Alexander Payne holds a promise of gentleness that is fulfilled, and a promise of complexity that isn't. Starring George Clooney as a wealthy Hawaiian lawyer whose wife is in a coma, The Descendants has a kind of surface difficulty, but is distinctly soft-centred, lenient and sentimental compared to the three scabrous and brilliant pictures that have cemented Payne's reputation over the last decade.
It is commonplace to refer to Payne's films as bittersweet, and to the director himself as American cinema's prose-poet of the male menopause. In Election (1999), Matthew Broderick is the middle-aged schoolteacher who conceives an obsession with a pushy teen pupil – a career-best performance from Reese Witherspoon – whose chances of becoming school-president he attempts to destroy . In About Schmidt (2002), Jack Nicholson's lonely and cantankerous widower embarks on...
- 1/27/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The man may be the big movie star, but the women in "The Descendants" have acquitted themselves pretty well, too. Alongside George Clooney in Alexander Payne's deft awards contender about a Hawaiian landowner who discovers his comatose wife had been cheating on him, 20-year-old Shailene Woodley and 11-year-old Amara Miller take major roles as Clooney's daughters. Judy Greer, meanwhile, makes the most of a handful of scenes in the second half of the film, while Patricia Hastie has won unamimous praise from Clooney for a thankless role as the wife, which required...
- 1/11/2012
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
It's become something of a tradition here at The Film Experience to take issue with the Screen Actors Guild and their problematic "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture" prize. Year after year they don't even seek to address an issue that you'd think would matter to the 90,000+ guild members: the preferencing of "names" over character actors, no matter the size or importance of the role. As you may know acting is one of those fields were you're lucky to just be working and those who make millions are few and far between. Yet the guild, which should be protecting their less-famous members often lets them be crushed by fame and its perks (aka getting your own title card or high billing). If you don't have your own title card you usually don't end up in the "ensemble" list. Our interest in this situation was first stirred by...
- 12/14/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Descendants
Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’s novel
Directed by Alexander Payne
USA, 2011
If it’s true that filmmakers spend their careers repeatedly remaking the same movie, few filmmakers seem to relish the prospect of repetition to the same degree as Alexander Payne. After cutting his teeth with a pair of acerbic dark comedies (Citizen Ruth and Election), Payne has chosen to systematically hone in on the angst of middle-aged (and up) American males for whom circumstances have conspired against them. Where Sideways and About Schmidt occasionally struggled to balance sober inquiry and broad humor, though, The Descendants finds Payne refining his recent formula, making for his most confident film since his early work, and certainly his most affecting to date.
George Clooney has made a career of starring in slightly-left-of-the-dial auteur vehicles – from Anton Corbijn’s The American, to...
Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’s novel
Directed by Alexander Payne
USA, 2011
If it’s true that filmmakers spend their careers repeatedly remaking the same movie, few filmmakers seem to relish the prospect of repetition to the same degree as Alexander Payne. After cutting his teeth with a pair of acerbic dark comedies (Citizen Ruth and Election), Payne has chosen to systematically hone in on the angst of middle-aged (and up) American males for whom circumstances have conspired against them. Where Sideways and About Schmidt occasionally struggled to balance sober inquiry and broad humor, though, The Descendants finds Payne refining his recent formula, making for his most confident film since his early work, and certainly his most affecting to date.
George Clooney has made a career of starring in slightly-left-of-the-dial auteur vehicles – from Anton Corbijn’s The American, to...
- 11/26/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Some movies just get it all right. I don’t mean the performances and the cinematography and the score and all that -- though it’s always nice when that happens, and that certainly happens with The Descendants. I’m talking about the important stuff, the stuff the movie is about, the reason for the performances and the cinematography and the score in the first place. The important stuff here touches on how we cope with the past and the future, with death and life, with love and betrayal. The important stuff here is funny and brutal at the same time, crazy and wise and bittersweet with it, because wisdom always is tough and ridiculous and undeniable. The important stuff here is about what meaning we find in what it is to be alive now, at this very moment, when all of us -- all of us -- could change...
- 11/23/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) has turned to Hawaii for his new movie, The Descendants. Based on the 2007 debut novel by Kaui Hart Hennings, the film is narrated by lawyer Matt King (George Clooney), who feels pulled by the past and the present at the same time.
For the present, his wife Elizabeth (a silent Patricia Hastie) is in a coma after a powerboating accident. Now Matt, who has remained fairly oblivious to his family, has to care for 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and pull 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) out of boarding school on the mainland. Alex admits to her father that the reason she had a falling out with Elizabeth is because she knew her mom was having an affair. King decides to find his wife's lover and tell him about her condition.
read more...
For the present, his wife Elizabeth (a silent Patricia Hastie) is in a coma after a powerboating accident. Now Matt, who has remained fairly oblivious to his family, has to care for 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and pull 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) out of boarding school on the mainland. Alex admits to her father that the reason she had a falling out with Elizabeth is because she knew her mom was having an affair. King decides to find his wife's lover and tell him about her condition.
read more...
- 11/23/2011
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
The Descendants
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Plot: Matt (Clooney) tries to connect with his two daughters after his wife gets into a boating accident. He also oversees a large piece of untouched Hawaiian land, and it might be time to sell.
Who’S It For? Fans of George Clooney and family drama should flock to this film. Be prepared for more tears than laughter.
Expectations: I knew nothing, and honestly, you should truly try to follow the same suit. The previews dive too quickly into plot details I was thrilled not to know. Once again, I will do my best to avoid plot spoilers.
Overall
I am attempting to go “spoiler free” with this review and that means not including big plot swings that happen in the first 25 minutes of the film.
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Plot: Matt (Clooney) tries to connect with his two daughters after his wife gets into a boating accident. He also oversees a large piece of untouched Hawaiian land, and it might be time to sell.
Who’S It For? Fans of George Clooney and family drama should flock to this film. Be prepared for more tears than laughter.
Expectations: I knew nothing, and honestly, you should truly try to follow the same suit. The previews dive too quickly into plot details I was thrilled not to know. Once again, I will do my best to avoid plot spoilers.
Overall
I am attempting to go “spoiler free” with this review and that means not including big plot swings that happen in the first 25 minutes of the film.
- 11/23/2011
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
A wise man once said: .It is much easier to become a father than to be one.. Writer/director Alexander Payne.s The Descendants, based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, is the best example of that sentiment on film that I.ve seen in many years. The story of a father and husband trying to find his way after failing in both roles isn.t as funny as Payne.s previous films Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, or Sideways, but it.s his most emotional and one of the best films of the year.
Set in Hawaii, The Descendants opens with an off-screen boating accident that puts Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie) in the hospital, on life support and in a deep coma. It.s looking less likely by the day that she.s going to wake up. While her distant husband Matt (George Clooney) attempts to deal his wife.s likely death,...
Set in Hawaii, The Descendants opens with an off-screen boating accident that puts Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie) in the hospital, on life support and in a deep coma. It.s looking less likely by the day that she.s going to wake up. While her distant husband Matt (George Clooney) attempts to deal his wife.s likely death,...
- 11/23/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Title: The Descendants Directed By: Alexander Payne Written By: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’s novel Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greeg If our currently somber economic conditions have been caused in part by the selling of housing to people who cannot afford it, such is not the case in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.” Payne, whose “Sideways” had us remember Paul Giamatti’s quote “Don’t give me merlot,” this time constructs a man who is expected to sell land for housing to large developers with deep pockets and with little chance of default. Given the...
- 11/22/2011
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
A discussion and review the week’s new movie release from your favorite entertainment and celebrity website. Hello everyone, this is episode 21 of the Movie Night Podcast. This week Rudie Obias and Perri Nemiroff discuss the new film from Alexander Payne, “The Descendants,” and the forth installment of the “Twilight Saga,” “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” directed by Bill Condon. Subscribe on iTunes or Download and Listen Here. “The Descendants” features George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer and Robert Forester “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” features Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Peter...
- 11/18/2011
- by Rudie Obias
- ShockYa
The Descendants
Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller
Directed by Alexander Payne
Rated R
Writer-director Alexander Payne treats us to a deeply moving story of a family that is forced to confront the very demons that led to it being so fractured. The Descendants stars George Clooney in this adaptation of a 2007 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The trio of Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rush are credited with writing the screenplay and what a screenplay at that.
The Descendants opens with a woman, Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie), appearing to be totally enthralled with life, her eyes aglow and smiling as sea spray indicates that she’s on some type of fast moving watercraft. The next time we see her it’s with a very different look on her face. Clooney plays the woman’s husband, Matt King, a workaholic lawyer and as we soon learn - absentee father and husband.
Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller
Directed by Alexander Payne
Rated R
Writer-director Alexander Payne treats us to a deeply moving story of a family that is forced to confront the very demons that led to it being so fractured. The Descendants stars George Clooney in this adaptation of a 2007 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The trio of Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rush are credited with writing the screenplay and what a screenplay at that.
The Descendants opens with a woman, Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie), appearing to be totally enthralled with life, her eyes aglow and smiling as sea spray indicates that she’s on some type of fast moving watercraft. The next time we see her it’s with a very different look on her face. Clooney plays the woman’s husband, Matt King, a workaholic lawyer and as we soon learn - absentee father and husband.
- 11/18/2011
- by Kerry Fleming
- GetTheBigPicture.net
Chicago – If one looks solely at the central male characters, it can seem remarkably easy to classify Alexander Payne’s movies under the subgenre heading of “mid-life crisis comedies”: Jim McAllister (“Election”), Warren Schmidt (“About Schmidt”), Miles (“Sideways”), and now the memorable protagonist of his stellar new dramedy “The Descendants,” Matt King. But these characters are also among the most three-dimensional and fully-defined of the comedy genre in the last twenty years. Payne goes deeper than the cliché of the male mid-life crisis to find what’s real and relatable to people at any time in their lives. His latest is a stunning tightrope act of comedy, sentimentality, drama, and the character definition that can only come from a man who has spent his life observing the complexity of the human race.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
“The Descendants” opens with a woman on the water (and is wonderfully book-ended in that respect...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
“The Descendants” opens with a woman on the water (and is wonderfully book-ended in that respect...
- 11/17/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
George Clooney is firing on all cylinders in Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants. He’s as funny as he’s ever been, but in a different way — previously, his most obvious comedic efforts (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading) have hinged on overtly deranged personalities, whereas here, he’s funny in a stripped-down, everyday manner. He’s funny because he’s got more weight on his shoulders than anyone else on his particular island of Hawaii, and the person he turns to for advice is his fresh-out-of-boarding-school, 17-year-old daughter Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). He’s funny because he’s in over his head. And he’s as raw and moving as we’ve ever seen him for many of the same reasons.
His character is Matt King. He has a successful law practice, but, at the moment, he’s more concerned with the large plot of ancestral Hawaiian property that he’s inherited,...
His character is Matt King. He has a successful law practice, but, at the moment, he’s more concerned with the large plot of ancestral Hawaiian property that he’s inherited,...
- 11/16/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Video from the La Premiere of The Descendants, starring George Clooney. George Clooney was in attendance, together with girlfriend Stacy Kieber for the Premiere of the Alexander Payne-directed The Descendants, which took place on Tuesday, November 15th in Beverly Hils, California. Also at the premiere were Shailene Woodley, Marcia Gay Harden, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Patricia Hastie, Matthew Lillard, Amara Miller and helmer Payne. The film received a perfect 5/5 score from Upcoming-Movies.com. Read our review here. Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Payne wrote the script, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The Descendants opens via Fox Searchlight Pictures on Wednesday, November 16th...
- 11/16/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Video from the La Premiere of The Descendants, starring George Clooney. George Clooney was in attendance, together with girlfriend Stacy Kieber for the Premiere of the Alexander Payne-directed The Descendants, which took place on Tuesday, November 15th in Beverly Hils, California. Also at the premiere were Shailene Woodley, Marcia Gay Harden, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Patricia Hastie, Matthew Lillard, Amara Miller and helmer Payne. The film received a perfect 5/5 score from Upcoming-Movies.com. Read our review here. Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Payne wrote the script, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The Descendants opens via Fox Searchlight Pictures on Wednesday, November 16th...
- 11/16/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Video from the La Premiere of The Descendants, starring George Clooney. George Clooney was in attendance, together with girlfriend Stacy Kieber for the Premiere of the Alexander Payne-directed The Descendants, which took place on Tuesday, November 15th in Beverly Hils, California. Also at the premiere were Shailene Woodley, Marcia Gay Harden, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Patricia Hastie, Matthew Lillard, Amara Miller and helmer Payne. The film received a perfect 5/5 score from Upcoming-Movies.com. Read our review here. Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Payne wrote the script, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The Descendants opens via Fox Searchlight Pictures on Wednesday, November 16th...
- 11/16/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Fox Searchlight George Clooney, left, and Shailene Woodley in “The Descendants.”
Almost a decade ago, actor George Clooney met with director Alexander Payne at a breakfast joint near Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles to talk about playing a soon-to-be-married cad in his then-upcoming film “Sideways.”
“He didn’t hire me, which I am still angry about,” says Mr. Clooney. But he finally got his chance to work with Mr. Payne in his next film, “The Descendants,” released today by Fox Searchlight.
Almost a decade ago, actor George Clooney met with director Alexander Payne at a breakfast joint near Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles to talk about playing a soon-to-be-married cad in his then-upcoming film “Sideways.”
“He didn’t hire me, which I am still angry about,” says Mr. Clooney. But he finally got his chance to work with Mr. Payne in his next film, “The Descendants,” released today by Fox Searchlight.
- 11/16/2011
- by Rachel Dodes
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
The Descendants, Alexander Payne’s follow-up film after the wildly loved and nominated Sideways, is without a doubt one of the clear standout films of 2011. Sure to be recognized come awards season, it holds what is perhaps the single best performance of George Clooney’s extensive career. It is original, heart-felt and an all-around perfectly crafted story about family and love.
Matt King (Clooney), a Hawaiian land baron and father of two, finds himself at a life-altering crossroad. A workaholic assigned the task of deciding whether to sell his family’s historic land and help his extended family’s declining finances, his life is suddenly put on hold when his wife Elizabeth (Patti Hastie) finds herself on life support after a boating accident. For the first time Matt must take care of his daughters: rebellious ten year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and troubled teen Alex (Shailene Woodley). The doctor tells Matt the bad news.
Matt King (Clooney), a Hawaiian land baron and father of two, finds himself at a life-altering crossroad. A workaholic assigned the task of deciding whether to sell his family’s historic land and help his extended family’s declining finances, his life is suddenly put on hold when his wife Elizabeth (Patti Hastie) finds herself on life support after a boating accident. For the first time Matt must take care of his daughters: rebellious ten year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and troubled teen Alex (Shailene Woodley). The doctor tells Matt the bad news.
- 11/2/2011
- Cinelinx
Over the past dozen years, Judy Greer has been a consistent presence in film and television, amassing more than 80 credits as a recurring guest star, supportive friend and cheeky comic relief. This year she co-stars in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," which is wowing critics and awards commentators as it slowly builds buzz for awards recognition in the coming months. Judy plays a woman caught up in the main storyline as the main protagonist, played by George Clooney, learns that his wife (Patti Hastie), who lies in a coma, was having an affair with another man (Matthew Lillard), who is married to Judy's character. It is a departure for Judy, as she is called on to display a range of emotions as the betrayed wife. For Judy, working on the film was a joyous experience. "I never felt like I was shooting a drama or a comedy or aiming for a certain genre,...
- 10/27/2011
- Gold Derby
★★★★★
It's been a seven year wait for a new film from Us director Alexander Payne (his last, Sideways, was in 2004), but fortunately his latest effort The Descendants (2011) doesn't disappoint in any shape or form. Featuring an Oscar-worthy central performance from BFI London Film Festival favourite George Clooney, Payne has once again crafted a supremely engaging, funny and touching tale of family politics, this time in the picturesque surroundings of the Hawaiin islands.
Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants follows self-titled 'back-up' father-of-two Matt King (Clooney) as he frantically tries to keep his family together following a boating accident, which has left his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) in a life-threatening coma.
Faced with the proposition of single-handedly reigning in his wayward daughters - 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) - preparing his wife's friends and relations for the worst and also finalising a...
It's been a seven year wait for a new film from Us director Alexander Payne (his last, Sideways, was in 2004), but fortunately his latest effort The Descendants (2011) doesn't disappoint in any shape or form. Featuring an Oscar-worthy central performance from BFI London Film Festival favourite George Clooney, Payne has once again crafted a supremely engaging, funny and touching tale of family politics, this time in the picturesque surroundings of the Hawaiin islands.
Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants follows self-titled 'back-up' father-of-two Matt King (Clooney) as he frantically tries to keep his family together following a boating accident, which has left his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) in a life-threatening coma.
Faced with the proposition of single-handedly reigning in his wayward daughters - 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) - preparing his wife's friends and relations for the worst and also finalising a...
- 10/20/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
A new theatrical poster and trailer have been released online for one of the best-reviewed movies to debut at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, director Alexander Payne's long-awaited follow-up to Sideways, The Descendants. Based on the book of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants stars George Clooney as Matt King, a wealthy Hawaiian land baron who is forced to re-examine his life and his relationship with his daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) after his wife (Patricia Hastie) slips into a coma following a tragic boating accident off of Waikiki and he learns that she had been having an affair with a young real estate broker (Matthew Lillard).
Next Showing: The Descendants opens Dec. 16
The Descendants - Clip
Clip: Who Is He?
The Descendants - Clip
Clip: I Don't Know What To Do With Her
Link | Posted 10/19/2011 by BrentJS
Alexander Payne | George Clooney | The Descendants...
Next Showing: The Descendants opens Dec. 16
The Descendants - Clip
Clip: Who Is He?
The Descendants - Clip
Clip: I Don't Know What To Do With Her
Link | Posted 10/19/2011 by BrentJS
Alexander Payne | George Clooney | The Descendants...
- 10/19/2011
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
In his first film since the Oscar-winning Sideways, writer-director Alexander Payne once again proves himself a master of the kind of smart, sharp, deeply felt comedy that was once the hallmark of Billy Wilder and Jean Renoir. Based on the bestselling novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants stars George Clooney as Matt King, the heir of a prominent Hawaiian land-owning family whose life is turned upside-down when his wife is critically injured in a boating accident. Accustomed to being .the back-up parent,. King suddenly finds himself center stage in the lives of his two young daughters (excellent newcomers Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller), while at the same time being forced to decide the fate of a vast plot of unspoiled land his family has owned since the 1860s. Rooted in Clooney.s beautifully understated performance, Payne.s film is an uncommonly perceptive portrait of marriage, family and community, suffused...
- 10/18/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Trailer for The Descendants movie, starring George Clooney in the Alexander Payne directed drama The Fox Searchlight Pictures drama opens on November 18th with a strong cast including George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie. Alexander Payne (Sideways) directs The Descendants, as well as scripting alongside Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film is set in Hawaii and follows the unpredictable journey of an American family at a crossroads. Matt King (George Clooney), a husband and father of two girls, must re-examine his past and navigate his future when his wife is in a boating accident off Waikiki. He awkwardly attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters...
- 10/17/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Trailer for The Descendants movie, starring George Clooney in the Alexander Payne directed drama The Fox Searchlight Pictures drama opens on November 18th with a strong cast including George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie. Alexander Payne (Sideways) directs The Descendants, as well as scripting alongside Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film is set in Hawaii and follows the unpredictable journey of an American family at a crossroads. Matt King (George Clooney), a husband and father of two girls, must re-examine his past and navigate his future when his wife is in a boating accident off Waikiki. He awkwardly attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters...
- 10/17/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Until this very moment, Alexander Payne has made a rather successful career with his ability to seamlessly meld pain with biting black humor. His Citizen Ruth (1996) brazenly tackles the Pro-Life movement and its foes. Election (1999) wickedly chronicles the disasters raging high-school hormones wrought on both self-centered teens and their instructors. About Schmidt takes its aging eponymous widower (Jack Nicholson) on a caustic trip to self-discovery while attending his daughter's wedding. And Sideways (2004), an ode to oenophiles in search of love, won him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Descendants, the closing-night attraction at the New York Film Festival, seems to be his first misstep, although the result is far from unbearable thanks to a talented cast that rises above a highly disjointed screenplay.
The opening shot is of Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie), a beautiful blonde hurtling across a waterway with the gales of excitement blowing across her face. The locale is Hawaii.
The Descendants, the closing-night attraction at the New York Film Festival, seems to be his first misstep, although the result is far from unbearable thanks to a talented cast that rises above a highly disjointed screenplay.
The opening shot is of Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie), a beautiful blonde hurtling across a waterway with the gales of excitement blowing across her face. The locale is Hawaii.
- 10/15/2011
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
We're still well behind on our reviews from the weekend, but we wanted to jump ahead and review The Descendants , the long-awaited return of Sideways director Alexander Payne, this time collaborating with George Clooney on a film set in Hawaii, as well as another quirky comedy simply called Butter , starring Jennifer Garner. We should have a slew of other reviews in the next 24 hours as well. The Descendants (Fox Searchlight . November 18) Directed by Alexander Payne; Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie Rating: 7.5/10 It's been seven long years since Alexander Payne wowed critics...
- 9/15/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
“Give your children enough money so that they do something, but not so much that they will do nothing.”
I find it very intriguing that a man of George Clooney’s monumental stature can still make films without letting his ego become a part of it. I also find it very interesting that at this year’s Toronto Film Festival you can catch two films starring him, one of them he directed himself: The Ides of March. While Mr Clooney is no doubt excellent in it he will most likely be playing a character he is very used to playing. The suave and slick, but edgy smooth talker who is super self confident until the world starts to slowly crumble around him. However, if you trot along the figurative hall you can see George Clooney deliver one of the finest performances of his illustrious career in...
“Give your children enough money so that they do something, but not so much that they will do nothing.”
I find it very intriguing that a man of George Clooney’s monumental stature can still make films without letting his ego become a part of it. I also find it very interesting that at this year’s Toronto Film Festival you can catch two films starring him, one of them he directed himself: The Ides of March. While Mr Clooney is no doubt excellent in it he will most likely be playing a character he is very used to playing. The suave and slick, but edgy smooth talker who is super self confident until the world starts to slowly crumble around him. However, if you trot along the figurative hall you can see George Clooney deliver one of the finest performances of his illustrious career in...
- 9/12/2011
- by Quigs
- Obsessed with Film
Some movies aim to distract us; others seek to help us understand. “The Descendants” tackles some of the prickliest issues a contempo family can face — coping with a loved one’s right-to-die decision — with such sensitivity that it’s hardly noticeable you’re being enlightened while entertained. As a Hawaiian father of two negotiating complex emotions while his wife lies comatose after a boating accident, George Clooney reveals yet another layer of himself. His involvement, plus the welcome return of “Sideways” director Alexander Payne, will bring in auds; their tell-a-friend enthusiasm should spell sleeper success among catharsis-seeking adults.
With its tropical vistas and near-perfect weather, Hawaii makes an unexpected backdrop for such a story, a mismatch that island native Matt King (Clooney) acknowledges in his opening voiceover. “Paradise can go fuck itself,” he says, the line betraying the anger he feels in the face of his wife’s 23-day coma.
With its tropical vistas and near-perfect weather, Hawaii makes an unexpected backdrop for such a story, a mismatch that island native Matt King (Clooney) acknowledges in his opening voiceover. “Paradise can go fuck itself,” he says, the line betraying the anger he feels in the face of his wife’s 23-day coma.
- 9/3/2011
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There are two light-hearted dramas coming this fall that mark the return of two major directors. One is Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants, who hasn’t directed a film since Sideways in 2004. The other is We Bought a Zoo from Cameron Crowe, whose last film was Elizabethtown in 2005. We have a new set of images from each today.
Above and below you can see George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in film which follows the father finding out his wife (Patricia Hastie) “goes into a coma and he learns that she’d been having an affair.” The images come from EW and you can see the trailer here if you haven’t yet.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced...
Above and below you can see George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in film which follows the father finding out his wife (Patricia Hastie) “goes into a coma and he learns that she’d been having an affair.” The images come from EW and you can see the trailer here if you haven’t yet.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced...
- 8/12/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
On the heels of the Warner Bros. preview earlier today, Fox Searchlight Pictures has delivered five new images for their three upcoming fall releases: Margaret starring Matt Damon and Anna Paquin, Martha Marcy May Marlene with Elizabeth Olsen and The Descendants starring George Clooney and directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways).
Of the bunch, I saw Martha Marcy May Marlene in Cannes and you can read my review here, but Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret is going to be the more interesting title considering it wrapped six years ago, but legal entanglements kept it shelved until now. Considering Anna Paquin was around 23 when the film completed shooting and is now almost 30 and Damon is now being suggested by Michael Moore as a potential presidential candidate and will be just shy of 41 when the film hits theaters, this will definitely serve as a journey back in time. Considering the film uses the events...
Of the bunch, I saw Martha Marcy May Marlene in Cannes and you can read my review here, but Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret is going to be the more interesting title considering it wrapped six years ago, but legal entanglements kept it shelved until now. Considering Anna Paquin was around 23 when the film completed shooting and is now almost 30 and Damon is now being suggested by Michael Moore as a potential presidential candidate and will be just shy of 41 when the film hits theaters, this will definitely serve as a journey back in time. Considering the film uses the events...
- 8/11/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
We’ve got two new dates for a pair of some of our most-anticipated films this fall. First up, Box Office Mojo lets know that Fox Searchlight has moved up Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants from December 16th, 2011 to a limited release on November November 23rd, 2011 after a likely fall festival run. This pits it against the limited release of The Weinstein Company’s big awards contender The Artist, as well as wide releases of Martin Scorsese‘s Hugo, The Muppets, Piranha 3Dd, and Arthur Christmas.
One could expect they are having a slower roll-out as they amp up expansion plans for the George Clooney-starrer based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel. Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie all co-star and you can watch the trailer here.
The Playlist also lets us know we can...
One could expect they are having a slower roll-out as they amp up expansion plans for the George Clooney-starrer based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel. Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie all co-star and you can watch the trailer here.
The Playlist also lets us know we can...
- 7/15/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
George Clooney teams up with director Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Election) for a dramatic turn in The Descendants as a father going through a mid-life crisis.
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie
Read more...
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie
Read more...
- 6/22/2011
- CineMovie
Following on from the poster which we put up a couple of days ago, Fox Searchlight Pictures have released the brand new first trailer for their new movie, The Descendants whcih is directed by Academy Award winner, Alexander Payne and stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie.
Synopsis: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
The...
Synopsis: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
The...
- 5/26/2011
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
It has been seven long years since Alexander Payne last had a film in theaters. He's done a lot of work since Sideways, producing some films (Cedar Rapids) and television (Hung) and working to develop quite a few projects. He spent some significant time on the film Downsizing, which was shelved late in development; that's when he jumped at making The Descendants with George Clooney. This one is right in Payne's wheelhouse: the story of a father dealing with his two daughters after an accident leaves his wife terrible injured. While trying to get back into being a proper father, he discovers that his wife had been having an affair, and things get emotional from there. The first trailer has landed, and fans of Alexander Payne's previous films will probably love it. Everyone else should check it out just for a brief bit featuring Robert Forster. George Clooney looks...
- 5/25/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
After debuting the poster earlier this week, we have the trailer for Alexander Payne’s highly anticipated upcoming drama The Descendents. His first feature since 2004′s Sideways, in which he picked up the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Oscar, the drama is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel. The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie. Check out the trailer below via Apple. It looks to be another solid, if a bit lowkey, drama from the acclaimed director.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki.
- 5/25/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Although there were some terrible posters released today, here is one to brighten things up. IMDb has debuted the poster for Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants. We also got a quick clip recently, but I can confirm a 2-minute, 10-second trailer is complete and on its way. I’d bet with Fox Searchlight’s The Tree of Life hitting limited theaters this weekend.
With his first feature since 2004′s Sideways, in which he picked up the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Oscar, the drama is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel. The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie. Check out the soothing poster below.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an...
With his first feature since 2004′s Sideways, in which he picked up the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Oscar, the drama is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel. The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie. Check out the soothing poster below.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an...
- 5/23/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Nope, not the question you are thinking of. One of our most-anticipated films of the year comes in the form of Alexander Payne‘s first feature since 2004′s Sideways, in which he picked up the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Based on Kaui Hart Hemmings novel, The Descendants stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, and Patricia Hastie.
Fox Searchlight has just launched a new site titled Who Is He, where they have posted the very first piece of footage featuring a hurried Clooney running around the streets of Hawaii. If you’ve read the novel, you know “the he” in question, but I won’t spoil that here. If you do want to find out, check out Hemming’s extended synopsis of the novel on her site. Check out the clip below and cross your...
Fox Searchlight has just launched a new site titled Who Is He, where they have posted the very first piece of footage featuring a hurried Clooney running around the streets of Hawaii. If you’ve read the novel, you know “the he” in question, but I won’t spoil that here. If you do want to find out, check out Hemming’s extended synopsis of the novel on her site. Check out the clip below and cross your...
- 5/10/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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