A Meditation on People and Their Environment

Alexander Payne is known for his off-beat, satirical dramas that tend to also be placed in the comedy category.  No doubt his films are funny, but the comedy comes from the resonance that Payne is able to fold into his narratives.  The scenarios that we see are painfully funny.  Payne re-wrote the script that was co-written by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings.  Payne has been doing this with great success since Citizen Ruth (1996).  The Descendants (2011) is Payne’s latest addition to his  impressive body of work which includes the high school set political satire Election (1999), the meaning of life meditation About Schmidt (2002), and the coming of age in their forties picture Sideways (2004).  These films often contain subject matter that is so appalling and tragic that if you do not laugh, you’ll cry.  The thing that makes the subject matter so appalling is that we can all relate to the scenarios that Payne presents to us; we all know the people that Payne introduces us to (we even see some of them in the mirror).  Call them comedies if you like, because you will laugh watching an Alexander Payne film, but take a moment to look a little deeper next time you are enjoying one.

What would you do if your husband, wife, or significant other was in a tragic accident that left them in a coma with little chance to live?  Would you take charge and do everything that you can to make sure they are getting the best care, and make sure that you are there for your family?  Maybe you would crumble under the pressure and be unable to do what is best for everyone (and I’m not talking about pulling the plug or not pulling the plug).  Perhaps you would turn to those around you and ask for the support that you need.  People end up in these unexpected situations all the time, and there is no right answer.  Until you are in that position you will never truly know what you are facing.  Making decisions during a time that is literally life or death would be, without a doubt, difficult for anyone though.  How would you feel if you found out that your significant other who is currently lying in a coma was not being faithful to you prior to the accident?  This is exactly what happens to Matt King (George Clooney) in The Descendants.

Matt King is the sole trustee of the last big parcel of undeveloped land in Hawaii.  It was passed down to his family by their ancestors.  An unfortunate law is requiring that Matt and his family sell off the land, so the Kings are meeting to decide who it would be best to sell to.  They will all be made very wealthy by the decision (the number 100 million dollars comes up), but it is ultimately up to Matt to decide what happens with the land. This is a big responsibility, to put it very lightly.  Matt meets with some of the cousins from time to time, and there are differing opinions on who the family should sell to, or if they should even sell at all.  At the very same time, Matt’s wife is lying in a hospital bed, her fate unsure.  Matt has always been responsible with matters of work and finance, but he even admits in his narration, “I’m the backup parent, the understudy.”  Matt begins to realize that maybe his priorities were a little off when he has to start being there for his children, and this notion is cemented further when he finds out that his wife was cheating on him because he was never around.

The first step in Matt’s journey is to get his older daughter Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), and bring her home from boarding school.  We find out that Alexandra is a wild child that her parents are unable to control.  Boarding school may be what some children need, and it may be very helpful to them, but this is not the case with Alexandra.  When Matt arrives to pick up his eldest daughter she is not in her room.  Instead, she is outside drinking with a friend.  Clearly boarding school is not working for her.  Matt remarks “this is what I pay $35,000 a year for.”  To him, everything is seen in terms of dollars and cents.  Early in the film when he is explaining that many of his cousins have wasted their inheritance, he makes sure to point out that he has never touched that money, and that he sustains his family’s lifestyle with the earnings from his law practice (he specialized in real estate law).  He seems to be under the impression that if he provides his family with a stable income, in a responsible way, everything will be fine.  Everything was not fine though, and it becomes clear that things were not stable for quite some time.  Scottie (Amara Miller), Matt’s youngest daughter, is acting out in school because she has no outlet.  Alexandra is into drugs and older men because she does not have a great relationship with her mother or father.  Matt’s wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) has a love of extreme sports and other men because Matt is so absent in their marriage; he does not give her the excitement she seeks.  Matt cannot see any of this though, until it is too late (at least to save his marriage).  It takes Elizabeth being put into a coma, and Matt being forced to leave his comfortable office for him to notice that he was not being a great father or husband.

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