THE DESCENDANTS

[maikuu]

[Elvira]

I felt that Matt's and Elizabeth's marriage was broken, and they didn't have anything in common and lived in different "worlds". Probably they were in love when they were younger and lost their feelings in daily routine. Because Matt was always busy, she started to date with another married guy and wanted to leave her husband. Even though it was the end of the marriage for her, Matt didn't notice that she had an affair.

It was difficult for both girls to handle the crisis, especially for Scottie because she was younger. I liked that Alexandra supported and encouraged her father even though she acted weird and stupid at the beginning of the movie. She also helped Matt to take care of Scottie.

Matt didn't sell the land because it was their heritage and he didn't want to give a chance to Speer to make money on this deal. I think he felt responsibility for the land and tried to save it for his descendants.

Overall, the thing that I liked is that it is the realistic movie: this kind of crisis could happened in many families. I also liked the beautiful scenes and the music. However, sometimes I felt the movie was long and depressing, and it needed more actions and some interesting twists.

Teacher's note: Thank you for thoughtful comments about a film that demands nothing less. My ten-year-old daughter (same age as Scotty in the movie) told me that she thinks The Descendants is boring. Fair enough, but at the same time she keeps talking about how she likes this part or that scene. Can't stop talking about The Descendants.

All the best,

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Virak94]

Happy Hawaiian music introduces the film as a shocking phrase prepares us for reality; "My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation... Are they insane?"

The very same music now stops being as happy as we thought; it becomes a nostalgic smile.

Trying to figure out The Descendants' story purpose is anything but easy. At first, a family crisis seems to lead the storyline; we could even be tempted to summarize the movie as it follows:

Matt has not always been the best husband; his work and business life have sometimes taken him out of his family, but with his wife's health compromised, Matt has to embrace his mistakes as husband and learn to be the father he has never been.

As the movie develops and we get to know that Elizabeth was cheating on Matt, we could resume the film in:

Matt and Elizabeths' marriage is facing its worst crisis. In a relationship where both have hurt each other, the day of reckoning shows in the most unwanted way: Elizabeth has had a deadly accident, leaving Matt alone to face his guilt, forgive her, and lead his family, whom he has always been distant from.

This summary may seem to be more accurate, but as the story evolves, multiple parallel storylines enrich a solid united argument that converges within the end: the movie is about letting go, about accepting our responsibilities and doing our wrongs rights. The Descendants is about taking the narrow path to happiness.

Matt faces the most major crisis he will ever face; not only does he have to forgive his wife but he has to forgive himself and carry on. He learns about family; his most important decision? Deciding to keep his entrusted family land for the greater good of Hawaii, for the greater good of his People. He learns to love and finally, he learns to hope; therefore to live.

This is a really good movie. Totally recommend it.

Teacher's note: This author really knows how to analyze a complex movie structure and to communicate these ideas clearly. I believe this writer could become a professional film critic (should he choose) on the level of Roger Ebert (http://www.rogerebert.com). Many consider the late Ebert to be the finest film critic of recent time.

I'd like to add that the unspoken summation of the above thought piece, what The Descendants is mostly about, is "blame reconciliation." Everything this author addresses describes how this goal must be accomplished. Most importantly, he points out how Matt and others must take responsibility and forgive all at the same time. Only then can Matt and the others "let go."

The greatest tragedy in this film, besides Elizabeth's fate, is how Brian Speer does not reconcile his blame. Thus, he cannot let go. What's worse, his wife, Julie, is the one who visits Elizabeth in his place. How sad this makes Speer's character. He has no hope of reconciliation.

The kicker is what to do with that last parcel of virgin Hawaiian land. Maybe this provides a way for Matt to feel better about everything. I can imagine a sequel to The Descendants, kind of like the sequel to Wall Street. There is unfinished business here. Thank you author for an insightful post.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[mira_cle]

The marriage that Matt and Elizabeth have is no [without] love and empty. they felt [feel] sad but they are strong enough to face the crisis and they said goodbye to their mom. Alexandra also deal[s] with the emotion that she found her mom cheating. Matt King's final decision about the land is not sale the land. He realized that he had no right to do it. He suppose[s] to protect the land not sale it away.

I love Shailene Woodley who plays Alexandra. First time I knew her is because on DIVERGENT and I am happy to watch her movie again. I think I will go search will else movies does she play.

thanks

Teacher's note: I would like this author to pay closer attention to GPS, especially time frame and pronoun referrals. I also was quite impressed with the performance of Shailene Woodley. IMHO she has a big future in Hollywood. Thanks for posting.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[HildaL]

The Descendants is a smooth and touching movie. I keep thinking [wondering] whether I can say it is a “simple” movie or not. Basically, it is all about a man, Matt King, but there are so many unexpected things [that] happen one after one that lay burdens on him and, it looks like a complex story now. Dying wife, cheated wife, two “don’t know how to deal with” daughters and a huge business decision… I am so into the film to see how he could handle all these suddenly pop up disasters.

George Clooney is a great actor. In fact, I think everyone in the film is fabulous. It is a dramatic story without dramatic acting. Everything seems so natural. And I have a strange feeling that I have sat there quietly reading a novel but not watching a movie.

I really enjoy the music in the film, which fit the story so well. Moreover, I love the ending. Sometimes, a simple scene speaks louder than anything. He forgave his wife and said goodbye to her, succeeded in guarding family’s descending land and reunited his family. Eventually, the King family let the past go and harmoniously embrace their new life.

I highly recommend it.
thanks

Teacher's note: "A dramatic story without dramatic acting" is a great tag line for The Descendants. Clear summary. Thanks for a cool post.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[ningshuangchao]

This is a movie about family, conflicts, sadness and humor. Matt king is a workaholic, though he loves his wife and daughter so much, his wife still chose to cheat on him. By the time he realizes this affair, via his rebellious daughter Alexandra, he has to deal with the fact that his wife has already gone into coma. The reason why his wife does this to him is not hard to tell: she has to take good care of their two daughters and cannot feel the intimacy and caring anymore from her own husband while she can find them from another man. Worse still, she even has decided to divorce with him before the accident.

This movie interprets people from different perspectives. Alexandra, a rebellious teenager, seems not easy to reconnect with for Matt at first since she is the one who finds out the affair and also find it hard to forgive her mother. But she sinks into water to cry and to give a vent to her complicated feelings while she realizes her mother will pass away. They decide not to tell this bad news that is her mother is going to pass away to Scottie, another troublemaker in this family, for the reason that she is too young to handle the fact. But at last she handles it pretty well actually everyone handle[s] this whole tragedy very well. They go through this difficulty together, learn to grow up and reconnect together. There is no doubt that Matt King make[s] this broken family join together again.

Finally, Matt King makes up his mind not to sale the land to the man who has an affair with his wife or to anyone else. He finally realizes this land inherited from his ancestor just like his wife and his family, is the meaning of his life. He says that it is entrust to us but we do nothing to own this land. Then he protects this land as protects his family, he believes he ties to this land as well as his children. He will figure out a way to keep the land since he will lose it after 7 years. He does not get the chance to keep his wife, but he definitely will find a way to keep the land.

This is a story about beliefs, persistence, tolerance and restart and it is told with beauty, silence, joy and tears.

Teacher's note: Thanks for a thorough and insightful summary of The Descendants. I especially notice your understanding of Alexandra and her relationship with mom and dad. Complex indeed. Great job.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[jasper]

Matt King is a Hawaii lawyer and the sole owner who controls a land on the Kauai. Just before family members are ready to sign the contract to sell the land, Matt's wife gets seriously injured during a boat accident. Their marriage is not as perfect as people’s expectation. He and his wife Elizabeth are having problems in their marriage. Matt concentrates on his work and has no time to communicate with his wife and children. Under this circumstance, Elizabeth falls in love with a real estate manager in Hawaii. If not get injured, she will ask for a divorce with Matt. [If she hadn't have gotten injured, she wouldn't have asked Matt for a divorce.]

Matt and Elizabeth have two daughters, Scottie and Alex. Lacing of proper guidance from their parents, Alex and Scottie are rebellion to their parents. Scottie always says some inappropriate words while Alex’s behaviors are not proper. But when the crisis happens, Alex decides to stand by his father and give him all her support. Alex also takes good care of her younger sister.Finally, Matt decides not to sell the Kauai for two main reasons. First, Hawaii is his home and he love this land, if he sells the last paradise, the natural beauty might be destroyed. Then, this decision is a counterattack to Brian Speer.

This is a story about recovery. It is a story about family, love, home and betray[al]. The Descendants is an ideal movie. It consists so many elements and the overall production is perfect. This may be George Clooney's best performance. He has so many emotions and he is so sincere. What’s more, this is a meaning movie about forgiveness. The story is simple, the love is sincere, and that is the reason why the movie receives several academy awards in 2012. Highly recommended!

Teacher's note: Glad you liked this film so much. I wasn't sure ESL students would find a connection to this complex and mature drama story. Perhaps the genius of The Descendants is that it contains strong dramatic roles played by younger actors of high caliber. Thanks for posting.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Parksukchom]

Matt always spend time with his work so he doesn't have time for his family so his marriage is nothing. But after his wife (Elizabeth) has an accident, he is becoming a good husband. He takes care his daughters and spends time with his family more than before.

Alexandra knows everything before her sister. She always helps and support[s] her dad in everything. Scottie is young girl who will lose her mother soon so it's not easy to her to forget about her mother.

Matt doesn't sell the land because he want to keep in for memory and for his family in the future. He wants to protect this place.

For me, this movie is a good drama movie. It makes you want to be alive and spend time as much as you can with people who you loves. I think if you want to watch drama movie, this movie is a good choice for you.

Teacher's note: I love this post! Having seen other posts by this author, I must declare to the world that this is a big improvement in GPS. Keep up the good work, author!

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[xshang]

I believe that every single couple get married for a reason. For most of them, the reason is love. So does Matt and Elizabeth. From what I've seen in the film, at least Matt loves Elizabeth. However, it is also obvious that there are so many problems in their Marriage. The vital one is that Matt is too busy to take care of his wife's feeling, or we can say Matt forgot how much he loves his family. This is a common problem happens to many middle-aged couples.

Some families are luck[y] because they have the chance to correct the mistake when the husband realized he took everything for granted. Others, like this family, didn't get the chance. Suppose Elizabeth survived, probably Matt would do everything to make the marriage work since he already realized how important she is. As for Elizabeth, after realizing that her “lover” doesn't truly love her, and Matt-- the man she promised to love forever, is back and refresh, she would remember her vow and love with this man. Unfortunately, this family didn't get the chance.

I love every characters in this film, especially Alexandra. First, obviously, she is very pretty. More than that, I think she perfectly described this sentence:" Everyone is a child until he/she is not anymore." (This sentence simply pumped into my head, and I have no idea where does it comes from...) She used to be a bad girl. She drink[s], curse[s], [and] fight[s] with her mother.She could be regarded as a purely rebellious teenager, until she is not. She grew up within a night when her father needs her. I just like the character in the film, also the way that the actress performs.

Thank you for introducing such a wonderful movie.

Teacher's note: You're welcome! I like how this author points out how The Descendants resonates with the real world, and how the author seems to empathize with Alexandra's character. Awesome post.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[coco]

In Matt and Elizabeth marriage, their relationship seems to be really complicated. Without doubt, Matt loves Elizabeth. However, his job has taken so much time of his. Therefore, he does not have enough time to spend with his passionate, creative, adventurous wife. I could not say it is inevitable, but his wife’s betrayal is to some extent understandable and imaginable because of her personality.

Alexandra shows an extreme attitude and her feeling to her mother is complicated. Because Alexandra has caught her mother cheated his father with Brian before her mother’s terrible accident. It is hard for a daughter to forgive her mother if she did something like cheating and it is also hard for a daughter to not forgive her mother because her mother is nearly died. As for Scottie, she holds really positive attitude.

Matt King’s final decision is keeping the land. The reason why he make this choice is that he thinks he does not have the right to give out the land which was inherited from his predecessors. And I think another reason is that if he sell this land, Brian, the person she’s wife keeps seeing, will earn a lot of money from this transaction. Even though he forgive his wife, I think it might be another reason why he refuses to sell the land.
I really love a sentence in this movie “Everything has it's time. Goodbye, my love, my friend, my pain, my joy. Goodbye. Goodbye. Bye”. When Matt says this in the movie, it really touches me, because people all desire for happiness, but what people cannot avoid is pain and sorrow.