FILM

USA 2011 115 mins Dir: Alexander Payne Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges, Nick Krause, Judy Greer, Robert Forster

Hollywood is always at its most disingenuous and nauseating with the 'Learning to be a Better Dad' movie, so this is a genre into which Alexander Payne sails at his peril. It's been seven years since the Oscar-winning 'Sideways', which has given him plenty of time to ponder the pitfalls of the family flick. Mercifully, that seems to have paid off. This poignant comedy reflects complicated, messy reality, walking a tightrope between humour and pain rather than trading in pat and reactionary homilies. Yes, it's crafted with devastating precision to pierce the hearts of Oscar voters. But in that hotly contested awards category 'Best Performance by George Clooney' it's a well-deserved winner, stripping layers of self-satisfaction from the familiar Clooney persona to reveal a man adrift in 'paradise'.

Adapted from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, 'The Descendants' casts Clooney as workaholic Hawaiian lawyer and land baron Matt King, permitting him to model a succession of embarrassing shirts. As the head of his family trust, he's being pressured by greedy relatives to agree to a development deal that would despoil a vast tract of virgin Kauai forest and give them a huge windfall. Against this background, Matt's wife suffers a water-skiing accident that leaves her in a coma. Suddenly, this neglectful 'back-up parent' finds himself having to reconnect with his wayward daughters: bratty, potty-mouthed 10-year-old Scottie (Miller) and troubled 17-year-old Alexandra (Woodley), who's been packed off to boarding school. Fireworks inevitably ensue, and the ante is upped when Alexandra drops the bombshell that her mother has been having an affair. Packing the girls and Alexandra's asshole boyfriend Sid (Krause) into the car, Matt sets off to track down the man who cuckolded him as the film shifts into indie road movie territory.

While it's good to see Clooney operating outside his comfort zone, newcomer Shailene Woodley is a revelation as the complex, out-of-control Alexandra. Indeed, all the supporting performances are spot-on, especially Robert Forster as Matt's flinty, disapproving father-in-law; Beau Bridges as his Cousin Hugh, whose affability conceals a ruthless streak; and Judy Greer as a woman with whom he makes an impossible connection. Even the most stereotyped character, Nick Krause's crass and immature stoner bozo Sid, turns out to have hidden depths. (Robin Askew)

Website www.foxsearchlight.com/thedescendants/

Opens: January 27

Copyright Robin Askew 2012