The Descendants

In hands of lesser skill, this film that addresses mortality, property, marital infidelity and teenaged rebellion might easily have gone to melodrama or sobbing sodden sap. Instead, director Alexander Payne delivers a poignant, wryly humorous and very non-formulaic story with a fine ensemble of players.

Payne has a film history of allowing his mid-life and adrift men to negotiate the perils of Big Questions (About Schmidt and Sideways) in unpredictable manners. In The Descendants, he again avoids easy Hollywood formula answers, and allows the primary character, Matt King (an excellent George Clooney) to be adrift, sympathetic and deeply credible.

Clooney is amply supported by the girls who play his smart and rebellious daughters Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). These girls don't play cute. They are feisty and funny and utterly believable. Nick Krause as their necessary stoner sidekick and buddy is quietly excellent and a great addition to the balance of characters. The script and the performances add up hilariously and poignantly without any whiff of sappy excess.

There are some wasted shots and some unnecessary tangents, but it all adds up in the end in a very satisfying manner. Locations are a bit confusing for those of us who know Kauai and the Islands, but no matter. The point is made that even perceived Paradise includes life problems.

The Big Questions are approached with wry humor, minimal melodrama, and no shortage of respect for all characters, even those of questionable morality. The final minutes are all one would hope for in quiet resolution.