REVIEW: The Descendants

Things I loved about Alexander Payne's The Descendants:—

— the rattier bits of Honolulu.

— Clooney's tears by the side of the road, his back to us like Queen Elizabeth II.

— yes, alright, the running in sandals.

— the line about Hawaiian businessmen bearing a striking resemblance to "bums and stuntmen."

— Shailene Woodley's scenes on the couch, eyes raw and red. Her blend of prettiness and plainness.

— the link-up of the two plots via a cousin. The cousins in general, and the dramatic use made of this overextended brood.

— seeing Beau Bridges again.

— the ambling pace.

— Judy Greer's brand of guileless, vulnerable optimism. The heartbreak of seeing it depleted.

— Payne's emotional ambition and reach, and the invisible cover it lends the comic switchbacks, to the point where you can't say which came first. Born together, in mid-air.

— One in particular, Greer's bedside speech + Clooney's reaction, is faultless.

— the reveal of Sid's family history, together with his use of the word "boss".

Things I wasn't so keen on:—

— The first scene where they talk to the mother.

— the line "my joy, my pain". Too written. He had me at "my love."

A-