The Descendants isn't a movie with a plot full of twists and surprises. It's not a movie with a sweeping love story where the endearing hero ends up with the girl of his dreams. It's not a movie about a quirky famiy that, against all odds, sticks together through thick and thin. But what The Descendants is is a truly honest story of a man whose personal world is coming down around him, the story of a man who has to pick through the pieces to remain true to himself. It's also a movie that has one hell of a performance by it's leading man, George Clooney. In fact, the performances in the film are uniformly strong behind Clooney, especially by Shailene Woodley, someone I was unfamiliar before seeing the film.
Given the events depicted in the film, it'd be extremely easy for the screenplay to come off extremely sentimental, cliché-ridden and clearly aiming for tears, but this was not the case in The Descendants. The writing here is very realistic, really adding to the honesty of the story. I didn't find the direction anything to write home about, but it certainly told the story as it should be told.
The Descendants is a film that will be most certainly be honored one way oyu another come Oscar time, that much is certain.
