The Descendants is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the main role, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller in her film debut, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster, and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011, after being screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.

Tracing the journey of attorney and land baron Matt King, who struggles with unexpected occurrences in his monotonous life, The Descendants was a critical and financial success, grossing $177 million against a $20 million budget and receiving acclaim for the performances of Clooney and Woodley, Payne s direction and writing, and Kevin Tent s editing. The film was nominated for five Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Payne, and Best Actor for Clooney, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards; Best Picture – Drama and Best Actor – Drama for Clooney.

Plot

Matthew Matt King is a Honolulu-based attorney and the sole trustee of a family trust of 25,000 acres (100 km2) of pristine land on Kauai. The land has great monetary value, but is also a family legacy. While Matt (like his father before) has ably managed his own finances, most of his cousins have squandered their inheritances. With the trust expiring in seven years due to the rule against perpetuities, the King clan is pressuring Matt to sell the land for hundreds of millions of dollars. Amidst these discussions, a boating accident has rendered Matt s wife, Elizabeth, comatose. With Elizabeth hospitalized, Matt is forced to cope with his two troubled daughters, 10-year-old Scottie, who seeks attention by bullying other children, and 17-year-old Alex with a history of substance abuse who is away at a private boarding school on the Big Island. Doctors determine that Elizabeth s coma is irreversible and her living will directs all life support to be discontinued. When Matt tells Alex, she reveals she learned Elizabeth was having an affair during her last visit, causing a major rift between mother and daughter.

Two close family friends, Kai and Mark Mitchell, tell Matt that Elizabeth was unhappy and loved Brian Speer, a real estate agent, and wanted a divorce. After Matt informs friends about Elizabeth s condition so they can say goodbye, he decides Brian should also have an opportunity to do the same. He and the girls, along with Alex s slacker friend Sid, travel to Kauai to find Brian. While there, Matt s cousin, Hugh, mentions that Brian is brother-in-law to Don Hollitzer, the developer to whom the majority of the family wants to sell the land. Brian stands to make a small fortune from the sales commission. Matt privately confronts Brian and informs him Elizabeth is dying, and offers him an opportunity to say goodbye. Brian says Elizabeth loved him, but he only loves his wife and children, then apologizes to Matt.

Frustrated and fragile from recent events, Matt asks Dr. Johnston to explain Elizabeth s inevitable death to Scottie. Elizabeth s father, Scott, admonishes Matt for failing to be a more generous and loving husband. Withholding his wife s affair, Matt agrees with him, but Sid and Alex unexpectedly defend Matt. At the King family meeting, Matt overrules the majority vote of his cousins, deciding instead to keep the land and look for a way around the rule against perpetuities. Shocked, Hugh tells Matt that the family will take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.

After learning about Brian s affair with Elizabeth, his wife, Julie, comes to the hospital. She tearfully tells a comatose Elizabeth that she wants to hate her for trying to destroy her family, but that she forgives her. Matt comes to terms with his wife s infidelity and impending death. He kisses her goodbye, followed by Alex and Scottie. They later scatter Elizabeth s ashes in the ocean off Waikiki.

Cast

• George Clooney as Matthew Matt King
• Shailene Woodley as Alexandra Alex King
• Amara Miller as Scottie King
• Nick Krause as Sid
• Beau Bridges as Hugh King
• Judy Greer as Julie Speer
• Matthew Lillard as Brian Speer
• Robert Forster as Scott Thorson
• Patricia Hastie as Elizabeth King
• Mary Birdsong as Kai Mitchell
• Rob Huebel as Mark Mitchell
• Milt Kogan as Dr. Johnston
• Laird Hamilton as Troy
• Michael Ontkean as Cousin Milo
• Matt Corboy as Kaiba

Production

The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010. Most of the film was shot in Honolulu and around Hanalei Bay. The location used as Matt King s house lacked the banyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan. For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their land, the film used a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) private cattle ranch on the south shore of Kauai, Kipu Ranch. Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of the novel on which the movie was based, had a cameo as Matt King s secretary.

The private boarding school attended by Alex King was depicted as Mid-Pacific Institute, which is in Honolulu, Oʻahu. Kaui Hart Hemmings stated that Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which is located in Kamuela, Hawaiʻi (the Big Island), was the inspiration for the private boarding school.

Postproduction began on June 14, and continued into February 2011. The film was screened at the Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals and was originally scheduled to have a limited release on December 16, 2011, but was moved to November 23, 2011, and then November 18, 2011.

The soundtrack uses Hawaiian music, featuring artists including Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth, Jeff Peterson, Makana, Dennis Kamakahi, and Danny Carvalho.

Reception

Box office

The Descendants opened in North America on November 16, 2011, in a limited release in 29 theaters, and grossed $1,190,096, averaging $41,038 per theater and ranking 10th at the box office. The film then had its wide release on December 9 in 876 theaters, and grossed $4,380,138, averaging $5,000 per theater and ranking seventh at the box office. The film was in cinemas for 156 days and its widest release in the United States was 2,038 theaters. The film ended up earning $82,584,160 domestically and $94,659,025 internationally for a total of $177,243,185.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 268 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website s critical consensus reads, Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating universal acclaim . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale.

Top ten lists

The Descendants has appeared on these critics top-10 lists for the best films of 2011:

Critic	Publication	Rank
Todd McCarthy	The Hollywood Reporter	1st
Betsy Sharkey	Los Angeles Times	1st
Don Kaye	MSN Movies	1st
Lou Lumenick	New York Post	1st
Stephen Holden	The New York Times	1st
Marshall Fine	Hollywood & Fine	1st
Joe Neumaier	Daily News	2nd
Ann Hornaday	The Washington Post	2nd
Peter Travers	Rolling Stone	3rd
Corben Carpenter	Corben Carpenter s Top Ten Lists	3rd
Michael Phillips	Chicago Tribune	4th
Anne Thompson	IndieWire	4th
Peter Rainer	The Christian Science Monitor	5th
Lisa Schwarzbaum	Entertainment Weekly	6th
Sean Axmaker	MSN Movies	6th
David Denby	The New Yorker	7th
Peter Hartlaub	San Francisco Chronicle	7th
Jaime N. Christley	Slant Magazine	7th
Peter Paras	E! Online	7th
Richard T. Jameson	MSN Movies	9th
—	MTV	9th
Jack Gregson	ScreenGeeks UK	9th

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Academy Awards	February 26, 2012	Best Picture	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
		Best Film Editing	Kevin Tent	Nominated
Argentine Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences Awards	2012	Best Foreign Film	Alexander Payne, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor	Nominated
American Film Institute	2011	Movies of the Year		Won
Art Directors Guild	2012	Excellence in Contemporary Film	Jane Anne Stewart	Nominated
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts	January 27, 2012	Best Film – International		Nominated
		Best Screenplay – International	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
		Best Actor – International	George Clooney	Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics	December 11, 2011	Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Use of Music in a Film		Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	February 12, 2012	Best Film	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
Casting Society of America	2012	Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Big Budget Drama Feature	John Jackson, John McAlary	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	December 19, 2011	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
		Most Promising Performer	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
Critics Choice Movie Awards	January 12, 2012	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Young Actor/Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Acting Ensemble	Cast	Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society	2011	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Breakthrough Performance	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle	2011	Best Picture		Won	2011
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
Golden Globes	January 15, 2012	Best Picture – Drama		Won
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Actor – Drama	George Clooney	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
Grammy Awards	February 10, 2013	Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media		Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards	February 25, 2012	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Supporting Female	Shailene Woodley	Won
		Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association	December 11, 2011	Best Film		Won
		Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
MTV Movie Awards	June 3, 2012	Best Breakthrough Performance	Shailene Woodley	Won
National Board of Review	2011	Top 10 Films		Won
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
New York Film Critics Online	December 11, 2011	Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
Online Film Critics Society	January 2, 2012	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival	January 5–16, 2012	Chairman s Award	George Clooney (Also for The Ides of March)	Won
Producers Guild of America	January 21, 2012	Best Theatrical Motion Picture	Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild	January 29, 2012	Best Ensemble	Beau Bridges, George Clooney, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Shailene Woodley	Nominated
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
Satellite Awards	December 18, 2011	Satellite Award for Best Film		Won
		Best Actor	George Clooney	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Judy Greer	Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
		Best Editing		Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	December 5, 2011	Best Actor	George Clooney	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash	Won
		Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director	Alexander Payne	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Shailene Woodley	Nominated

Year	2011
ReleaseDate	2011-12-09
RuntimeMins	115
RuntimeStr	1h 55min
Plot	A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.
Awards	Won 1 Oscar, 65 wins & 148 nominations total
Directors	Alexander Payne
Writers	Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Stars	George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller
Produced by	Tracy Boyd, Jim Burke, George Parra, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Music by	Jeff Peterson
Cinematography by	Phedon Papamichael
Film Editing by	Kevin Tent
Casting By	John Jackson
Production Design by	Jane Ann Stewart
Art Direction by	T.K. Kirkpatrick
Set Decoration by	Matt Callahan
Costume Design by	Wendy Chuck
Makeup Department	Julie Hewett, Karen Iboshi Preiser, Debra Rego, Waldo Sanchez
Production Management	Renee Confair, Mads Hansen, George Parra, Rick Reynolds
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Scott August, Tracy Boyd, Richard L. Fox, Joyce McCarthy, Amy Wilkins
Art Department	Alvin S. Cabrinha Jr., Kaanoipono Cabrinha, Jonah Chang, Brian Costa, Scott Ejercito, Sidney Etrata, Alexandra Hearn Fernandes, Justin Fischer, Serena Rios Flores, Stani Franklin, Jason Garner, Quintin D. Gasper, Sean Hallock, Craig Hoffmann, Michael Kaahanni Jr., Michael Kaahanui III, Gerard Kaman, Derrick Kaupiko, Eric Kitaoka, Eric Knight, Nancy A. Knight, Nancy Z. Knight, Robert E. Knight, Camille Komine, Ivan M. Lizares, Butch Lum, John Marano, Edward Medeiros Jr., Ace Newman, Shanna Norton, Alvin Pittler, Douglas Rasmussen, Sylvia K. Ringgold, Isaia Robins, Josefa Robins, Kenneth K. Sato, Ben Shafer, Sam Sternthall, Darrell Tachibana, Kaleo Wong, Liloa Wong, Ronn Wong
Sound Department	Derek Casari, Patrick Cyccone Jr., Russell Farmarco, Jonathan Fuh, Frank Gaeta, Luis Galdames, José Antonio García, Patrick Giraudi, Brian Hackett, Matthew P. Hanson, Kaspar Hugentobler, Joe Iemola, James Moriana, Chris Navarro, Justin Van Hout, Brett Voss, Christopher Wiecking, Jeffrey Wilhoit, John Soukup
Visual Effects by	Salvatore Catanzaro, Mark Dornfeld, Michele Ferrone, Adam Gass, R.J. Harbour, Nicholas Hasson, Paulina Kuszta, Kammie Rivera, Alex Romano, Jose A. Alfonzo, Mikyoung Hahm
Stunts	Terry Ahue, Todd Bradley, Craig H. Davidson, Errol Kane, Brian L. Keaulana, Keoni Keaulana, Noland Martin, Paul J. Merino, James K. Miranda, Aden Stay, Marcus Young, Titus Kinimaka
Camera and Electrical Department	Rylan Akama, Norman Akau, Mike Bacon, Matthew Berner, Troy Boggess, Richard J. Brock, Gustavo Brum, Cole Chetney, Don Chong, Shawn Christensen, Rick Crum, Chuck Cullen, Kanoa Dahlin, Drew Desjarlais, Charles Ehrlinger, Christian Franklin, Vance Gage, Ray Garcia, James Goldman, Michael J. Gregg, Jeffrey M. Hall, Patrick Hoeschen, Tweed Johnston, Keola Jones, Lee Kaneakua, Kevin Kersting, Don King, Scott Lisetor, Trevor Loomis, Elliot Lucas, Brian Matsumura, Annie McEveety, Allen Mozo, David Pearlberg, Tom Penny, Radan Popovic, P. Scott Sakamoto, Joe Sanchez, Tuiaana Scanlan, Keoki Smith, Monte Swann, Rafael E. Sánchez, Roger Thompson, Brian Tilden, Don Tomich, Raimar van den Bylaardt II, Warner R. Wacha, Mike Weisbrod, Merie Weismiller Wallace, Curtis Wingert, Deena Frooman, Michael Romano
Casting Department	Anna Fishburn, Wes Ford, Barbara Harris, Andy Henry, Andy Kleiman, Sherlan N. Koloi, John McAlary, Yesi Ramirez, Susanne Scheel, Katie Taylor, Christian Kaplan, Rachel W. Sutton
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Carmen Rodrigues Davis, Dana Kay Hart, Anne Hoss, Michelle Moder, Ivy Chiem Rowan, Susan Strubel, Linda Vollert, Robyn Zucker
Editorial Department	Brian Bautista, Christine Carr, Fred Chandler, Mindy Elliott, Joe Finley, Nicholas Hasson, Nancy Jundi, Mikki Levi, Tim Maxwell, Bryan Park, Jim Passon, Alex Romano, Kay Sievert, Brian Gee
Location Management	Timmy Chinn, Katrin Chong, Dustin Goldstein, Matt Goldstein, Linda Graham, Karen Greenlee, Art Rivers, Angela Tillson, Jim Triplett, KiKi Yoshimoto
Music Department	Dondi Bastone, Richard Ford, Robert Kraft, Eugene Kulikov, Rebecca Morellato, Thomas Cavanaugh
Script and Continuity Department	Rebecca Robertson
Transportation Department	Richard Groder, Kelly Loo, Anna Reed, John Reed, Kenneth Smith, Gary Woods
Additional Crew	Co-Co Aiello-Younger, Joseph Aikala, Laurie Arakaki, Cameron Arguelles, Deidre Backs, Kelly Barnes, John Brady, Debra Burgess, Sean G. Burke, Nathan Carlson, Gregory S. Carr, Shawna Carver, Kimberly Choi, Sanoe Damon, Jeff Dash, Rebecca Davis, Vincent Desrosiers-Nault, Evan Endicott, Dinesh Fernando, Tal Fiala, Todd Fink, Jeff Fishman, Max Garcia, Liz Georgoff, Claudia Gray, Jessica Caress Hamamoto, Nancy Honeycutt, Jeremy Johnson, Jeremy Johnson, Lee MacNeil Johnson, Leah Kaina, Xanadu Kekuewa, Mara Kerum, Tyler Kueffner, Ryan Lam, Dana Ledoux Miller, Lisa Lee Mitchell, Dagny Looper, Victor Lozano, Troy Manandic, Brad Dirk Martin, Larissa Martinez, Angel McConnell, Courtney McCrory, Anna Musso, Nicole Nakamoto, Karen Neasi, Anthony M. Ocasio III, Nicole Oudinot, Nick Ower, Pablo Paz, Mark Petritz, Stockton David Porter, Darren Rodriguez, Andy Rydzewski, Jason Skweres, Ashley C. Smith, Cameron Spencer, Gary Stone, Rachel Streater, Bernadette Tanchauco, Amber Joy Tomasello, Kimberly Williams, Robert Wong, Susan Wyshynski, Tyler Atkinson, Josh Land, Dana Taschner
Thanks	Tommy Ardolino, Gavan Daws, Andy Lautenbach, Carri Morgan, John Morgan, Randall Roth, Julia Porter Steele
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Companies	Searchlight Pictures, Ad Hominem Enterprises, Dune Entertainment
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	7.3
ImDbRatingVotes	243524
MetacriticRating	84
Keywords	father daughter relationship,boating accident,hawaii,cheating wife,dying mother