Product Details

• Actors: George Clooney, Judy Greer
• Directors: Alexander Payne
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Fox Searchlight
• DVD Release Date: March 13, 2012
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (431 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004UXUX4Q
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,692 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Descendants" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Only Oscar-winning writer-director Alexander Payne (Sideways) would think to cast the famously handsome George Clooney as a disheveled dad in his outstanding adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings's tragicomic novel. Clooney dials down the glamour to play Matt King, a Hawaii real-estate attorney with a propensity for unflattering shirts and ill-fitting trousers. When Matt's wife, Elizabeth, ends up in a coma after a water-skiing accident, Matt must learn to balance the parenting of his resentful daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley, The Secret Life of the American Teenager), with the sale of a pristine plot of Kauai land that stands to make the King cousins, including scruffy Hugh (Beau Bridges), a fortune. As Elizabeth's condition worsens, Matt contacts friends and relatives, like her fiercely protective father (Robert Forster), so that they'll have the chance to say goodbye. In the process, he finds out she was having an affair with realtor Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard, effectively cast against type), so he and the girls, including Alex's hilariously mellow friend, Sid (Nick Krause), go on an island-hopping trip, ostensibly to add Brian to the mix, but Matt really wants to find out what his wife saw in the guy. His journey from naiveté to knowledge brings out Clooney's soulful side, creating a believably flawed, deeply sympathetic figure. If Payne leans too heavily on the slack-key soundtrack, his love for his characters, including Judy Greer as Matt's female counterpart, results in his most emotionally satisfying movie to date. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

From the celebrated director of Sideways (Alexander Payne) comes a wonderfully warm and witty film that Rolling Stone calls "damn near perfect." Academy Awardr winner George Clooney 'leads the ensemble cast of year' (Chicago Tribune). Experience a bittersweet drama about a detached father's attempt to reconnect with his two daughters and their often-hilarious quest for the truth in this "moving, enlightening, funny and unapologetically human" film (Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine). Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

158 of 184 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Family Dramedy About Searching For Truth, But Finding Something More Important December 1, 2011

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

It seems hard to believe that it's been seven years since Alexander Payne's "Sideways" became the critical darling of 2004. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and winning Payne an Adapted Screenplay Oscar--that picture (along with Election and About Schmidt) signaled a talented filmmaker with an unorthodox worldview. Blending elements of comedy and drama, Payne has crafted complex characters simultaneously frustrating and sympathetic--but altogether real. In adapting Kaui Hart Hemmings' intimate novel "The Descendants" to the big screen, Payne demonstrates (once again) a deft balance of emotions to create a picture both funny and heartbreaking. I so admired how Payne made vineyards and fine wines a major component, an extra character really, in the sublime "Sideways." In much the same way, Hawaii is a principle character (and I would contend one of the most pivotal) to "The Descendents." It would be easy to imagine someone jettisoning much of this rich texture, but Payne has crafted a loving tribute to the state's heritage in addition to one of the year's most surprising family dramas.

George Clooney plays one of the titular descendants, someone whose family has great historical significance to the Hawaiian Islands. In fact, he and his many cousins own a great tract of undeveloped land that plays a major role in the film's fascinating side story. Front and center, however, is a more personal tale of family dysfunction and pulling together in crisis. When Clooney's somewhat estranged wife is incapacitated in an accident, Clooney must take charge of his troublesome teenage daughter (an astute Shailene Woodley) and his rebellious younger girl (an appealingly unexpected Amara Miller). With mom in a coma, Clooney is left to do his best to reconnect with the girls that he hasn't made enough time for. While this seems to be leading to some routine comic hijinks, the film takes a decidedly more serious turn as Clooney learns about his wife's true feelings. The rest of the movie walks the tightrope about how he and his daughters can channel these revelations and emerge stronger for it. And the film runs the gamut of emotions with anger, betrayal, love, and regret sharing equal time as the family embarks on a tumultuous journey together.

While I know this makes the film sound like a bit of a downer, there is much humor to be enjoyed as well. While I'm confident that many will reveal far more about the plot than I am willing to, I think that it is best to let the story unravel without expectation. This is very much an in-depth character study. As such, Clooney has one of his most rewarding roles. He goes through a lot, but he maintains a subtlety that always keeps the picture grounded (even in its more extreme elements). Woodley is a revelation and this is as far a departure from TV's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" as she's likely to experience. I'm confident we'll be seeing more of her. Miller has a real ease and provides many well placed laughs and a few tears as well. Perhaps the film's biggest secret weapon is Nick Krause playing Woodley's friend. As a laconic and laid back surfer dude, Krause's scenes with Clooney have real impact. As an odd source of wisdom and support, he is a unique character in this piece.

"The Descendants," at the end of the day, is a quiet and thoughtful film. The film never plays up the huge emotional moments or strains for melodrama. It simply lets the characters exist as complex creations, with all their foibles and flaws in evidence. Its understated power, therefore, is all the more successful as it feels patently real. A treat for adult movie goers, 4 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 12/11.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Memorable film with Clooney at his best April 8, 2012

By Monkdude

Format:Blu-ray

I had missed this highly rated (by the critics) movie in theaters, so I finally got around to renting the Blu-ray over the weekend.

It's mostly a sad drama about a man slowly losing his wife after a boating accident, but there are a few comedic moments along the way that are realistic, rather than forced. The writing and the entire cast are great. I'm not the biggest George Clooney fan, but his work in Up in the Air and The Descendants has totally made me a believer in his acting talents when given the right material. The girl who plays his oldest daughter is very good as well. One of the better movies I've seen in 2012 and worth checking out.

55 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant Depiction of a Family in Crisis December 15, 2011

By Bonnie Brody TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

The Descendants, a movie starring George Clooney, is the best film I've seen all year. It is adult-themed, realistic and poignant. The dialogue seems real, the acting is superb and the photography of Hawaii is spellbindingly beautiful. The story is about Matt King, descended from King Kamehameha many generations back. He and his family have inherited quite a bit of land for which Matt is the executor and they are in the process of selling it. The proceeds will go to Matt and his cousins. Despite having wealth, Matt has lived frugally, to the point where one might question his motives. His wife, Elizabeth, has just been severely injured in a boating accident and is comatose. It is unlikely that she ever will wake up and her living will is very explicit that she wants her life support pulled.

Matt has two daughters, Scottie and Alex. Alex is 17 and a handful. As the film opens, she is in a private school that may also be a rehab facility. Scottie, about 10, is acting out at school and at home since her mother's injury. Matt is clueless about how to raise his two daughters alone and has been very distant from his family spending most of his time working at his law practice. The crisis with Elizabeth is forcing him to be a primary parent and the film is excellent in showing Matt's development as a father.

Matt goes to the big island to pull Alex from school and bring her home. She is furious at her mother, having found out recently that she was having an affair. She tells her father and the two become co-conspirators in finding Joanie's lover and confronting him. Matt is flabbergasted about the affair. The marriage has not been going well but he had no suspicions that his wife loved another man.

George Clooney is excellent in his part as are the two girls. The movie poignantly shows how the family starts pulling together into a semblance of a loving unit. The dialogue is fresh and real, not for the faint of heart or for those who mind cursing. I have not read the book so I can't compare the two but on its own merits, this film is a real winner.