"The Descendants"

Life in Hawaii must be idyllic. Swaying palm trees, beautiful waters to swim in, what could be better than that?  Matt King may have a different opinion. He has his own Law Practice, he is also head of  family gathering who are deciding who to sell a sizable chunk of land to that they have been bequeathed. On top of that he has two very wayward daughters who are making his life difficult, and on top of that his wife has been in a power boating accident and now she is in a coma. Life is far from peachy for Matt King.

The detachment from his children could be that he is very work obsessed, it could also be the reason that he discovers that his wife has been far from faithful. Naturally this comes as a shock, and if his wife had not already been in a coma, he would no doubt have hospitalized her himself.
The film has two journeys, one is Matt trying to come to terms with the infidelity of his wife, and also to meet the man she has been sleeping with. The other journey is the one that the family as a whole have to take as they come to terms with the fact that mother / wife is not going to recover from the coma.

It is well written and Directed by Alexander Payne, who has shown past genius with films like "Sideways" and "About Schmidt". The only problem that I have with "The Descendants" is that the majority of characters in the film are all arseholes, and as such you have trouble giving a toss about them.

A great film that could have been, is merely a good film. Top marks however for the closing scene.........5 out of 10 (Revised from previous score of 6)