The Descendants

Today is a bit of a distant day.  If that does not make sense, I shall explain.  I am feeling a bit distant.  Now that I have properly explained that, I could try and give some context.  The last week has been incredibly up and down for me, and today almost felt like the week in a microcosm.  There were some good moments, but some definite bouts of almost instantaneous anxiety, and all sorts of other fun emotions that have gone along with it.  I don't know what to make of it all, so perhaps today I will review a movie which I still don't know what to make of it.

The movie is The Descendants, and I will say immediately that I enjoyed it, but that it has been one that has been very hard for me to put my finger on.  Some movies hit a part of our being immediately and stir something familiar (or unknown) in us, what resonates and travels with us.  I don't know what it is with this film, but I have had such a hard time nailing down exactly what I came away with after seeing it.

The movie is about Matt King (George Clooney), who is a husband, a lawyer, a father, and the sole trustee of the family's land holdings on the island of Kauai.  His wife gets into a boating accident and enters a coma, and King is left to be a father to his two daughters, whom he seems to have no understanding of.  At this same time, he is having to work out a deal on the family's land under the pressure of this many relatives who may not have been so smart with their part of the family fortune.  As he is dealing with all of this, he learns some troubling news and has to try and juggle all that is happening.

Perhaps this is what makes me think of this movie today, of all days.  A film that I have thought about, pondered about, analyzed, and come up with no heart felt conclusion on may suddenly make sense to me.  It really is about chaos, and the struggle to hold onto anything that is within reach and to maintain whatever sense of self one can through such times.  I am not equating my moments with the trials endured by Matt King, but it is the sense of unravelling and being forced to rediscover who you are and what is important to you that is now ringing clear.

As King tries to be a father to his daughters, whose actions are unexplainable to him, he also tries to pick up his own pieces of brokenness, as well as be forward thinking about the future of the family trust.  We see him obsess and break, something that perhaps those dealing with hard times can relate to.  Because his struggles are relatable, it is easy to really want peace for this man, who is not perfect by any means, and perhaps that can reflect the own calm and piece we ourselves wanted through similar times of distress.

Yes, this review is not typical, and I am not going through all of the technical aspects.  All of those qualities are great and well done.  The locations are great, the scripting is great, the acting is great, but those were never what was vexing me about this film.  I knew I liked it, but I was at a loss as to why.  It is about someone whose life became distant, and through tragedy, worked to pull it back together and refocus on those things that really are most important.  So, on a day when, as best as I can describe, I am distant, I finally gain an understanding into what the movie means to me.  It means that no matter who tumultuous the waters get, there are people who are rocks in our lives that we need to grab on to, and focus on those things because they are what will bring us back into calmer waters and will remind us of who indeed we are.

Rating - 3.5 out of 4