‘The Descendants’ Is The Projector’s Movie of the Week

Will Leitch
·Editor


Every week, The Projector gives you our Movie of the Week, the one film that we agree you should run out and see before any other this weekend. We'll recommend a movie, with links to great interviews, our own writings and where you can get tickets. We're not afraid to be service-y!

So, this week's pick is "The Descendants," Alexander Payne's moving Hawaii family drama starring George Clooney as a middle-aged man trying to put his life and his daughter's life together after his wife suffers a tragic accident. It's an likable-yet-acerbic film that's funny, charming and truthful to its core. It also makes Kauai look like the most gorgeous place on earth. So go see it. Here's all you need to know, and how to make that happen:

The Projector Movie Pick of the Week: "The Descendants."
Director: Alexander Payne.
Quote From Our Review: "To see a film shoot for the fences while still remaining grounded in an adult reality is sort of amazing, an achievement all by itself. 'The Descendants' isn't perfect, but you'll probably see a lot of your life in it, and it'll probably make you cry."
Quote From Another Critic You Respect: Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor. "[Payne and Clooney] know that the story they are telling is too emotionally complicated to muck up with a lot of preening and artifice. They head right into the sad and crazymaking humor of the situation. This is a modest marvel of a movie."
Quote From Smart Interview With the Director: "Both Schmidt and The Descendants have a protagonist who's reached a point in life, who says 'I've done my job, I've been a good provider' and doesn't realize how distant he's been from others and from himself."
Metacritic Rating: 83.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92.
Clips: Right here.
Where It's Playing: Today, you can see it on four screens, two in NYC and two in LA. But tomorrow it opens wider, in 11 other cities. Then, on the 23rd, it's a ton of places, surely somewhere near you. You can get the full release schedule on the Fox Searchlight site. Get tickets here.

So, what are you waiting for, people? Go see it! (If and when it's in your city!)

Previous Picks:
November 10, 2011: "Into the Abyss.
November 3, 2011: "Margin Call."
October 27, 2011: "Like Crazy."
October 20, 2011: "Martha Marcy May Marlene."