The Descendants (Alexander Payne)

Mickeroo

I love Alexander Payne's movies, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways were all great and this is the trailer for his new one with George Clooney called The Descendants. It gives a fair bit away probably but I doubt it's a film thats oo heavy on plot anyway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vu6qUglcGo

Sad Professor

Not particularly impressed with the trailer, but About Schmidt is a favourite of mine and Sideways is excellent as well, so I'll definitely be checking this out. Where the hell has Payne been anyway? It's several years since Sideways came out.

Mickeroo

Sad Professor wrote: »

Not particularly impressed with the trailer, but About Schmidt is a favourite of mine and Sideways is excellent as well, so I'll definitely be checking this out. Where the hell has Payne been anyway? It's several years since Sideways came out.

I get the feeling the trailer is edited and soundtracked in a similar way to how Sideways was made look like a full on comedy in it's trailers.

Yea Sideways was 7 years ago now!! Looking at IMDB he's been producing a lot, I didn't realise the TV series Hung was his baby, will have to go and track that down now.

JP Liz V1

Matthew Lillard is in the cast :eek: finally a decent role for him

bnt

I just heard about this one, and the OP's trailer is gone, so here are two: a short teaser, and a longer one with a few spoilers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-3FWLv4-wA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OBvd5MgPYA

Besides Clooney, the cast includes Beau Bridges, Judy Greer and Robert Forster.

krudler

new Alexander Payne movie out Jan 20th here, looks good, Clooney is always reliable and Paynes movies are great, loved Sideways

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWHNXJ1K4yA

Rabidlamb

Some will have caught this in the last few days.
The UK release date is the 27th of Jan, no word on Irish date.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_descendants_2011/

It has a similar pacing to Sideways & that will please some.
Clooney is as reliable as ever but Golden Globe winning, I don't believe so.
Wife's in a coma, daughters are tearaways, big financial decision pending & revelations come to light.
It could have been smaltzy with the wife coma angle but the director steers us clear of that.
The elder daughter is the standout as you see her grow throughout the piece.
Avoids the Hollywood ending.

Overall, 3/5.

Sad Professor

It's out here on the 27th as well.

Mickeroo

Sad Professor wrote: »

It's out here on the 27th as well.

I hope this gets a proper wide release.

Sad Professor

I thought it was superb. Heartbreaking, funny, tragic, everything you’d expect from Payne. He really has a knack for depicting deeply flawed characters with the respect and understanding they deserve. Clooney is excellent as usual, his self-depreciating charm is right at home in Payne’s world. But as good as he is, Woodly still threatens to steal the film from him in an outstanding breakout performance. Keep an eye on this girl, she’s going places.

This isn’t as laugh-out-loud funny as some of his previous films, but fans of Payne won’t be disappointed. It’s over 5 years since Sideways - hopefully it won’t be so long until his next film. He really is one of the best and most consistent American filmmakers working at the moment.

johnny_ultimate

Delightful stuff altogether. Been a while since I was so charmed by a film in the cinema. It toes the line between thoughtful drama and a crowdpleaser like a boss. Its one of those films that will have you laughing childishly one second, and emotionally suckerpunched the next. It's powerful without sentimentality, and the characters are all fascinatingly flawed and ultimately lovable characters. The two main strands play off each other expertly. Delighted Payne abandoned the over literal voiceover early on.

It's not perfect - although I was willing to forgive Spike's annoying traits as he's victim to the best joke in the film - but it's one of the most involving American films I've seen in a while. Payne's track record remains one of the strongest in the business. Let us indeed hope we don't have to wait half a decade for more

tok9

Went to see this instead of the sitter last night and thank god for that. It's a brilliant movie.

mystic86

watched this tonight. Colour me disappointed. One big Cliché. Go see the Artist instead - great movie, funny and charming. For a movie that deals with raw emotions and live changing type events in a real/natural way watch 50/50.

My 2 cents.

duckworth

Christ, this was more boring than a Coldplay song. Very disappointed.

marwelie

Its not a patch on About Schmidt or Sideways IMO. I cant really see what Clooney did to be nominated for an Oscar in this one, other than the fact that he is a

soon to be grieving husband

He has however perfected the art of looking bewildered by just not brushing his hair. I thought the older daughter and the slacker boyfriend were the only two characters with any substance and both out-acted George, especially the boyfriend. The land plot was incidental but the view was beautiful. It really isn't as good as people would like you to think.

mystic86

marwelie wrote: »

Its not a patch on About Schmidt or Sideways IMO. I cant really see what Clooney did to be nominated for an Oscar in this one, other than the fact that he is a

soon to be grieving husband

He has however perfected the art of looking bewildered by just not brushing his hair. I thought the older daughter and the slacker boyfriend were the only two characters with any substance and both out-acted George, especially the boyfriend. The land plot was incidental but the view was beautiful. It really isn't as good as people would like you to think.

i agree with all of the above except for what you said about the boyfriend character - couldn't stand that character, thought it was pathetic!

johnny_ultimate

Didn't think the land plot was incidental at all. Played off the main plot and themes in interesting ways throughout. You could definitely say the resolution was expected, but Matt's reasonings for the decision were unusual and morally ambiguous.

If anything the Brian Speer plot was the fluff here. Think they spent a too much time on it. Definitely led to some interesting scenes though. It's not a film I'd call utterly original, but always thought the execution had a very unique spin.

Agree on Sid though. His character was too broad for the film, even if again he enjoyed some well considered moments.

Sad Professor

Sid is part of a tradition of obnoxious characters in Payne’s films. Tracey in Election, Jack in Sideways, Randall in About Schmidt. Payne’s willingness to embrace the more annoying aspects of his characters without turning them into cardboard cutouts or comic relief is one of his trademarks and what makes his films feel real. I didn't like Sid either, but he's the kind of character who would be very familiar to American audiences.

mystic86

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sid is part of a tradition of obnoxious characters in Payne’s films. Tracey in Election, Jack in Sideways, Randall in About Schmidt. Payne’s willingness to embrace the more annoying aspects of his characters without turning them into cardboard cutouts or comic relief is one of his trademarks and what makes his films feel real. I didn't like Sid either, but he's the kind of character who would be very familiar to American audiences.

I felt that's exactly what the character was though!!

mystic86

to me it's one of those movies that thinks it's saying everything but imo is saying nothing.

blue note

Saw this yesterday and thought it was great. I think his films have a great, relaxed flow to them and Hawaii was perfect for this.

I did find Sid a bit of a carboard character and he stuck out for that reason. That said, I found him funny a few times as well.

And on Clooney, I wouldn't like to see him pick up an Oscar for this. He was very good, but it's hardly a classic performance.

I'd probably prefer this to The Artist for the Oscar, but I thought both were great.

Johner

Saw this last night and really enjoyed it. I actually liked Sid some really funny moments from him.

Mickeroo

Watched this on Wednesday night. Thought it was great though not quite as good as Sideways. It was very funny in places and also very sad, when clooney

says goodbye to his wife

had me welling up. I felt it wasn't quite as dark as Payne's other films and will definitley play to big audiences better than his last 2 movies but its still not your average hollywood family dramedy. I loved the lazy feel to the film and the Hawaiian soundtrack was great. I liked the Sid character, I thought he was hilarious but also had some substance. Utterly delighted to see Laird Hamilton pop up in a bit part too

MagicMarker

Watched it the other day, not a bad movie. I'd call it a ''nice'' movie, but nothing really special about it imo.

johnny_ultimate

As a film, it's certainly quite 'middle of the road'. Doesn't do anything new, is largely inoffensive, is an (occasionally shameless) crowdpleaser. But there's just something about it that places it well above your average American indie film.

Sad Professor

Kermode had some interesting thoughts on it in this week's podcast. As he watched it he thought it was quite ordinary, but by the end it had snuck up on him and he found it very moving and effective in a way he found difficult to explain. He suggested (and I agree) that it's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts and it being the kind of film that works in such a way as to defy criticism.

zweton

thought this was fair depressing!

_Whimsical_

I was surprised to find this film was pretty awful .Even when compared to Sunday afternoon "made for tv" drama this fell short. Despite the story line being potentially weighty the film felt superficial and contrived.It was difficult to connect with the characters because they didn't seem to connect with much real emotion themselves. The semi comical goose chase around Hawaiis islands for someone who would surely feel like an irrelevant character at such a time was just unrealistic and they sacrificed any moments of truth that might resonate with an audience to silliness. I agree the older daughter was the strongest character but she wasn't just wasn't written well enough to carry the film.

Over all it left me with only one thing to mull over : does Clooney really run like that? If not I have a feeling that's what is Oscar nom is for because his portrayal of Sid was totally lacking in dimension.

Da Shins Kelly

I didn't like it, nothing special to warrant all the gushing praise. I didn't like any of the characters or felt particularly sympathetic towards them, despite their circumstances. I didn't see what was so great about Clooney, and if he wins the Oscar for that performance, it'll be pretty poor, I think. Also thought the plot was painfully predictable. You could see what was going to happen way before it did. As soon as Brian Speer was mentioned, I immediately knew what was going to happen there, likewise with the eldest daughter. Didn't find it particularly visually stimulating either. Overall, I was pretty bored throughout it.

Gandalph

It was a good watch I thought. The older daughter is smoking hot! Wouldn't watch it again I think.

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

It’s over 5 years since Sideways - hopefully it won’t be so long until his next film.

Just to follow up on this, Payne's next film is already in pre-production and he plans to start shooting in the summer. It's called Nebraska and is about a father-son road trip. He finished the script just prior to directing The Descendants. He's also got another film called Wilson, which may begin shooting as early as next January. So looks like we won't have to wait for long after all.

tunguska

Saw it on saturday and its definitely a grower. I like it more now than I did at the time of seeing it. Clooney is great but his performance isnt even in the same league as fassbender in shame. Unbelievable how the academy didnt even nominate him. But I digress.......The descendants is funny and sharp, but heavy at times, which is understandable considering what its about. Dont think its as good as sideways though, but like I said, its a grower.

Sindri

I didn't think it was great. Sort of one dimensional.

JohnMearsheimer

I went to see this movie last night. I had seen the trailer for it at another film a while ago and I didn't really like what I saw but he film itself took me by surprise. It was far better than what I was expecting.

eskimocat

I did like the film but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was brilliant. The (Lovely) George did okay, his appearance certainly suited the role. The older daughter was excellent and I agree with the above poster, her character wasn't written strongly enough to carry the film, and I feel that's a real pity. Not a film I would be rushing to see again, but still glad I have seen it.

monkeysarecool

I really enjoyed it. Its a bit depressing but I'll certainly buy it when it comes out on DVD. Gotta love George anyway

dedon

Outstanding film.

Great to see a refreshing film after some rubbish over the last few months.

mystic86

dedon wrote: »

Outstanding film.

Great to see a refreshing film after some rubbish over the last few months.

i couldn't disagree more.

Giruilla

Beautifully shot, some good dialogue, great music... but story-wise, this did nothing for me. Found it incredibly boring at times.

lc180

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Its one of those films that will have you laughing childishly one second, and emotionally suckerpunched the next.

This comment above pretty much summed up the film for me.

Its a good film, not an amazing film but well worth my hard earned money.

Sindri

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Delightful stuff altogether. Been a while since I was so charmed by a film in the cinema. It toes the line between thoughtful drama and a crowdpleaser like a boss. Its one of those films that will have you laughing childishly one second, and emotionally suckerpunched the next. It's powerful without sentimentality, and the characters are all fascinatingly flawed and ultimately lovable characters. The two main strands play off each other expertly. Delighted Payne abandoned the over literal voiceover early on.

It's not perfect - although I was willing to forgive Spike's annoying traits as he's victim to the best joke in the film - but it's one of the most involving American films I've seen in a while. Payne's track record remains one of the strongest in the business. Let us indeed hope we don't have to wait half a decade for more

You must have seen a different movie?

That_Guy

Sad Professor wrote: »

He's also got another film called Wilson, which may begin shooting as early as next January.

I hope it's about the ball that Tom Hanks grows accustomed to in Castaway.

JoeA3

Saw this tonight and really liked it. It reminded me a lot of Sideways and I didn't even realise it was same director till I IMDB'd it!

As others have said, the older daughter was the standout in it. I also found Sid very amusing. In the wrong hands his character could have been a cardboard cutout.

Thought Clooney was solid... I tend to enjoy most things he appears in.