Film: The Descendants
Year: 2011
Director: Alexander Payne
Written by: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard.
Running time: 115 min.
This is out in New Zealand cinemas on January 26th.
One of the things I don't like about awards season is that there are films that are big hits, getting lots of nominations and stuff and becoming everyone's favourite movie. Then awards season ends, and those movies are forgotten about. The Descendants is one that I feel will become that way. It is getting a lot of buzz, even winning the Best Motion Picture - Drama award at the Golden Globes and numerous accolades for the lead, George Clooney. Yet, while everyone is quick to shower love upon this movie, I am a little more hesitant. Maybe it is because I haven't seen an Alexander Payne movie before, so I'm unfamiliar with his 'easy breezy style' of making movies. The thing is, I just don't know why this movie didn't do anything for me. I might be unpopular in the blogosphere - but this is what the lady sitting next to me said as soon as it finished: "that was so overrated. If George Clooney gets the Oscar this year, it will be such a disappointment. Now Ryan Gosling was fantastic, he should definitely win. He was way better in his movie." I was going to intervene and give her a lecture on how the Gos is unfortunately going to miss out this year because of all of the competition, but I said the exact same thing to my Dad (minus the Gos part). Which made me feel bad, but since I'd just watched a movie that lives and breathes honesty as a way of combating lies (and maybe all feeling), it only felt fitting.
