The Descendants

[B_Buster]

Another overrated dud. And if you're not a fan of Hawaiian music or NPR background music, you should probably avoid this at all costs. Consider yourself warned.

[wood and iron]

Have you liked other Alexander Payne movies, Mike?

[B_Buster]

Yes, I enjoyed Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways which is why I was looking forward to this. What a let down.

[crumbum]

I have been a lukewarm fan up to now, and I don't think the Descendants is a masterpiece or even close, but I do think it's his best work.

[B_Buster]

Wow. What did you think was good?

[Kormod]

Have you seen Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene yet, Mike? It seems like it would be up your alley.

[crumbum]

I'll just quote myself from the General Movie Thread: 'I agree with the general consensus that it's another very strong effort from Payne, and I would even say it's probably his best film. The scope of feeling is greater than he's achieved before and I didn't feel that he was scoring cheap shots off the secondary characters as much as he has in the past. And the themes having to do with the two story threads (the wife's affair and the land sale) are tied together in subtle but moving ways.'

Maybe that last statement was a bit vague... what I mean is I thought the questions it raises about what you owe your family, and the idea of family as something you can't escape from for good and ill, though sappy, were expressed beautifully. I will admit, on the other hand, that it's not really all that funny, but then I never found Payne's movies larf-out-loud hilarious. I always found them kind of dyspeptic. And George Clooney was definitely not the ideal choice to play this particular lead, though I thought he did an admirable job.

[B_Buster]

Have you seen Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene yet, Mike? It seems like it would be up your alley.

Did that ever come out? I wasn't even aware that it had been released yet. I liked You Can Count on Me so I was probably going to check it out.

[Kormod]

I think you might be thinking of Margaret. MMMM was done by a first-time director.

[Paul DeLouisiana]

I think you're way off here Mike. Has there been a movie in the last few years that totally impressed you? You seem to shrug off a lot of the new stuff.

I will go so far as to say this movie was great. It's definitely the Alexander Payne film that I feel works the best. I wasn't too into Sideways mostly because I'm not a fan of Giamatti. But I think that all the acting in this was top notch. His use of local extras is admirable. And I was oddly excited the see Matthew Lillard in it.
The scenes between Clooney and his father-in-law, Clooney and Sid, Lillard on the porch (he has a wonderful face for someone hiding immense shame and guilt) and the whole lease signing scene with Beau Bridges were all extremely well done. And even thou it was meant to be the tear-jerking moment, what Clooney said at his wife's bedside at the end was heartbreaking.
Look I know that maybe it isn't wise to base the worth of a film on you emotional attachment to it, but oh well.
Also I think Clooney was fine for the role. Who else would've been suitable?

[gravy boat]

I think you're way off here Mike. Has there been a movie in the last few years that totally impressed you? You seem to shrug off a lot of the new stuff.

Didn't you hear Skeevy's revelation that Mike comes home blotto every night, fires up Tree of Life, and starts bawling?

[B_Buster]

I think you might be thinking of Margaret. MMMM was done by a first-time director.

Ah, I got them mixed up. I'll look into it.

[B_Buster]

I don't think so, Paul. Check the reviews for The Descendants. Not every critic was hoodwinked by Payne's previous track record. And the reason you were impressed is where I thought the movie failed: I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. Part of the problem is that the wife/mother isn't a real character. She's an abstraction and all the other characters are just types reacting to a situation. The whole thing felt forced and unearned to me.

[Paul DeLouisiana]

I don't think so, Paul. Check the reviews for The Descendants. Not every critic was hoodwinked by Payne's previous track record. And the reason you were impressed is where I thought the movie failed: I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. Part of the problem is that the wife/mother isn't a real character. She's an abstraction and all the other characters are just types reacting to a situation. The whole thing felt forced and unearned to me.

I'm not good at arguing about movies, so fair enough.  To me, it worked well and I liked it more than Sideways. I didn't so much relate to the characters (like I did with Tree of Life), I guess I just felt bad for their situation and was interested in how they were dealing with it.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Part of the problem is that the wife/mother isn't a real character. She's an abstraction...

I saw this as a strength.