The
Descendants,” this year’s Golden Globes winner for Best Picture (Drama) and
Best Actor (George Clooney) is based on Kaui Hart Hemming’s novel set in Hawaii
where outwardly successful businessman Matt King (Clooney) is thrown into
crisis when his wife falls into a coma.
As
King struggles to be a hands-on parent with his two daughters Scottie (Amara
Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and eventually coming to terms with
his wife’s deteriorating health, he soon discovers a secret that has given him a new look in
life. With his girls in tow, he steps forward to search for unturned stones his
wife has left him with. Along the way,
in encounters alternately funny, troublesome and transcendent, he realizes he’s
finally on course toward rebuilding his life and family.
The
winning motion feature is presented by Fox Searchlight Pictures with Ad Hominem
Enterprises production directed by
Alexander Payne which is also penned by Payne with Nat Faxon & Jim Rash. The
ensemble cast includes George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert
Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong,
Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie.
“The
Descendants” is a story that could perhaps be told anywhere, but it has a
completely unique setting among the landed upper-classes in Hawaii,” says
Alexander Payne. “It’s specific to this
place, yet it is also universal. Hawaii is very interesting and not just for
its obvious visual and vivid beauty; there’s a distinctive social fabric to
life there and that intrigued me,”adds Payne.
The
movie sees two masters, both Oscar winners, both at the pinnacle of their game.
Funny but also reflective and poignant, this is Alexander Payne’s first film
since “Sideways” (2004). And in one of the most interesting roles of his
brilliant career, George Clooney plays Matt King, a conflicted and flawed man
discovering his own humanity and responsibility in the wake of a tragedy.
In
the depths of this crisis, King has to come to terms with the fact that he has
been largely inadequate as a father as he attempts to repair his relationship
with his two daughters. 17 year-old
Alexandra is rebellious and has been sent off to boarding school. 10 year-old Scottie, played by first time
actress Amara Miller, is precocious and in need of parental supervision. Compounding Matt King’s grief, there is the
added revelation that before her accident his wife had been involved with
another man. “Matt is kind of lost, befuddled, disappointed—all the normal
things people feel in life, realizing they’ve done the wrong things.” says
Payne.
“The
film is about the awakening of a man who has been in an indifferent marriage
that has gone stale,” adds producer Jim Burke.
“It is a wonderful father and daughter story and something completely
new for George Clooney. We have never seen him in a film about a relationship
between a man and his children.”
“The
Descendants” will open on February 15 in theaters from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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