I assure you I have enough tragedy in my life to match or best this film's theme, but I couldn't feel anything for the characters. I wanted Matt (Clooney) to get a "win" in, amongst his tragic and overwhelming circumstances - but that's about all the passion I could muster. I welled up in the right scene, but I left the theatre feeling unmoved. The characters never felt real. The actors conveyed the material beyond what was really there, but for me that didn't rescue the film. For the record, Clooney in Michael Clayton was nothing short of perfection. "Up in the Air" very emotional and real. Big ups to Judy Greer the skilled character actress who kills it in everything she's in. Her performance in this as Julie Speer is no exception, but again, her big scene plays like the production minimized it rather than amplified it. For those who got something out of the film, glad you did. But had to speak for the minority.
Review of The Descendants
