The Descendants(2011)- User Reviews

It is really creepy how the Dad and teen daughter track down his comatose wife's married lover. Bizarre movie.

***Spoiler alert***
This wasn't a bad movie but I thought it odd that he would be triapsing around Hawaii looking for her former lover rather than staying at the hospital with her or making funeral arrangements.

I work in a hospital so I like to see a factual representation of medicine. Most of the hospital scenes were realistic except for the ending where they take her off the ventilator and allow her to die naturally.

Early in the film, there was talk about donating Elizabeth's organs. If they really intended to do that, they would have declared her brain-dead and harvested the organs promptly.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this movie. I had begun to lose faith in Hollywood's ability
to produce dramatic films that are interesting and unpredictable.

Makes me more curious about King family and history of Hawaii. Scens of the real estate in the movie made me want to visit but not as a tourist on vacaion.

This movie is not for the Transformer generation as it deals with real life in a very intense, retrospective way. If you like reality and family drama that is very well acted, this movie is for you. If you prefer fictional characters in very unrealistice action adventure situations, this movie is not for you.

What an idiot.

I thought this movie was terrific. I was warned beforehand that it's not a light movie, which was implied in some of the commercials. Thought-provoking, well-acted and yes, depressing. I highly recommend.

Terrible with a capital T

Mary J. seems to be old enough to have insight and the level of thinking to enjoy this very fine movie. Very good acting all around. The oldest daughter could easily be a supporting actor nominee. I have read too many reviews from people too young to understand the concerns this movie addresses, and the human qualities portrayed in addressing them. This is NOT a boring movie at all!

I was surprised , War Horse is not nominated

Drab, pointless, unrealistic scenes, poor writing, terrible acting from everyone except the oldest daughter and Clooney.....If this is considered to be Oscar worthy, then I really need to educate myself on knowing a good movie when I see one.

Doris Flemington, NJ
So depressing, Wife on life support, lots of hospital room scenes
girls with garbage mouths. The only happy scene is the last one
where the father and daughters watch a movie, under the quilt that covered their now dead mother. Really? Should have left.

The movie, in its essence, questions the values of the current power generation. If the current power generation had been more restraint, we would leave more of creation to the upcoming generation - our descendants. But, how is restraint and the "pursuit of happiness" to be balanced? Even the most perfect emotion, wealth, weather, marriage, wife, husband, kids, pristine land, secluded beach and paradise can be "loved", "desired", and "played" to destruction.

The movie was full of these moments where you feel compelled to tell some of the 50ish characters "What? That's all you have to say?" "What? This is your reaction?" Especially, Geoge Clooney's character may appear flat. Many close up shots show the somewhat emotionless mug of a 50ish guy. These moments were either, as some indicated, bad screen writing and acting, or it was intentional. Many of the movie's characters in the same age range appear to drift - along for the ride. George Clooney is portraying a detached lawyer father, a well meaning but also pitiful example of his generation. His rebellious daughters (Amara Miller, Shailene Woodley) have the fire and emotion of youth. They struggle but their values appear more sane. Both actress play their roles convincingly. It's not a feel good movie for people who are in their 50's. The subliminal critique of the values of the current power generation may be hard to take. I am not surprised that some viewers want to leave the show early. Like Matt King (the Clooney character), just driving the Honda Civic to show restraint may not cut it.

The last scene, the best moments for a family are often simple. Sharing the same quilt on the couch and eating ice cream is as good as it gets.

Totally agree that this movie does not deserve any awards at all! Golden Globes award ticked me off. "The Help" is far, far superior.

I really cannot understand how Clooney got an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award. Mediocre at best. Supporting actors were less than mediocre. The two girls stood out especially Shailene Woodley but otherwise no way. If not for all the hype from media would not have missed out on anything if we had not gone.

I understand the reviews that were not so good; but I disagee that there was a lack of "meaning" in this film. There were many messages, if one had the level of maturity to grasp what was going on. The great courage the father had in protecting their land for future generations, is just one example. No, this was not a teen comedy flick.

I enjoyed George and the rest of the cast. A must see movie. I usually wait and rent movies just because my home system is pretty well setup but being that George is a possible award winner we had to see it in the theater. Many of use there applauded.

I thought this movie was extremely slow and boring. It was a 2 hour Clooney close-up fest. The daughters were exceptional in their part. This movie could have been shot in 15 minutes. The most exciting part about this movie was when the credits roled. The cinematography was even boring for Hawaii.

I don't understand how this movie is getting the acclaim it is. I didn't care about any of the characters and it didn't feel like they cared about each other either. Clooney's character spent more time trying to find the man his wife was cheating with him on than he probably spent on his marriage. There was too much going on and too little to care about. Too many loose ends... in the beginning the young daughter was lashing out, but then she just stopped. And why was this family not at the hospital more often? I just plain didn't get it.

Jarrod, perhaps a bit more time learning to spell and less time at the movies might help.