Nice, but a bit too tidy

What we have with The Descendants is a kinder, gentler Alexander Payne. The writer/director who gave us such films as About Schmidt (2002) and Sideways (2004), delivers a film that is less cynical about its main characters than much of his previous work. It's a good movie with a few beautifully honest moments, but in the final analysis, it's a bit too nice and tidy and just doesn't hold up as well compared with his previous efforts.

The story itself is a serious one; that of a successful lawyer named Matt King (George Clooney), who has been given the task of selling a family trust of thousands of acres of prime native Hawaiian land that some of his relatives and he have inherited. Due to a law that prohibits ownership in perpetuity, they have only seven years left to decide who to sell the land to, be it a local group or out-of-town developers. 

It's a big task and it keeps Matt knee deep in paperwork and meetings. But that pales in comparison to his most serious concern; his wife was seriously injured in a boating accident and is in a coma at the local hospital. It isn't long before Matt learns that there is no hope for his wife, so he must take care of this business as well as the real estate sale and perhaps most importantly, break the news to his two daughters, 17-year old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and 10-year old Scottie (Amara Miller).

This is of course, a difficult and slightly clumsy challenge for Matt, but it becomes more complicated when he learns a fact about his wife that his oldest daughter knew, but had not previously shared with her father. Matt is floored by this news (I won't give this plot detail away), something that affects both him personally and as it soon turns out, could alter his business plans as far as the land sale.

What I like about this film is the way that Matt deals with his daughters. The dialogue (by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and Payne, based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings) is smart and realistic; this is a far more accurate depiction of how young girls talk than a film such as Juno, for example. It's the same on other levels as well, as when Matt goes to his neighbors for advice with his problems. There are a lot of clumsy moments that nicely reflect the awkward moments in our life.

Clooney, who is in every scene in this film, is the glue that holds this story together and he's more than up to the challenge. He deep voice confirms a sense of calm, even when things are going haywire. He's even more effective however, when he doesn't speak- his focus sharpens and his face tightens, as you know he wants to say something, but doesn't. This is especially true in the scenes with Robert Forster, who portrays Clooney's father-in-law, who blames Matt for the accident that gravely injured his daughter.

The scenes that Clooney and Forster share - one at Forster's home and one at the hospital - are the best moments in this film. There's an anger that pervades Forster's vision, as he doesn't know all the facts. Clooney could tell him everything, but doesn't, if only for not wanting an even bigger conflict on his hands. The screenplay at these moments asks us, "how much is enough?"- are there indeed secrets that are not worth sharing, even if divulging those secrets can ease our pain?

This overriding message is the one that makes The Descendants a successful film. It is a strong enough point to outweigh some of the pat situations here, as I feel that things are wrapped up a bit too tidy with this film. A few more serious questions could have been asked and I believe this would have been a better film for it. Dealing with the death of a loved one is a somber challenge to anyone and this is a good look at the subject, but except for the scenes with Forster, there isn't the bite to this film that you expect. Payne gave us some pretty cynical characters in his previous works and for me, these characters added a lot of depth to those stories, which dealt with a number of crazy- and sad - moments in the human condition. I prefer the old Payne and hope he returns to that vision in his future works. But for now, The Descendants will have to do.

Don't Lie to Me

Once again, I find myself catching up on movies on airplanes; not the best place, I admit, but things are better than they used to be. On Lufhansa and other airlines these days, the technology now permits the passenger to not only select one of several films (as often as 9 or 10 different choices), but with some programs, you can actually rewind or fast forward the film at very fast speeds, allowing you to watch a scene again and again. So while I’m not exactly getting widescreen visuals, it is a great way for me to take notes on the films and if I miss something, I can go back over it again.

This most recent trip afforded me the opportunity to watch Up In The Air and The Invention of Lying and while these films have little in common, the subject of lying is the one that appealed to me. I had heard so many good things about “Air” and I certainly think that director and co-writer Jason Reitman (Sheldon Turner was the other writer) deliver with a film that is spot on about a troubling aspect of the current business mode – that of laying people off. The film is at its best when it discusses that subject in a straightforward manner and George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, the man who has to deliver the bad news to too many people, is remarkably efficient in his role, not only in his vocal delivery, but also in his facial expressions. He’s got this thing down and he’s careful not to get caught up in peoples’ woes. I can’t help but think that Clooney was selected for this film, not only for his considerable talents as an actor (and he truly nails this performance), but he IS the actor – and star - of the day, so life imitates art, in an unusual way.

There are so many perceptive moments in the screenplay and there is one scene in particular where Reitman and Turner have Bingham artfully shift one man’s sorrow into a vision to his unfound dreams. Having just fired an employee face to face (the need to do this one-on-one rather than over the internet is a critical point of this film), Bingham listens to the man complain about how he will not be able to pay for everything from the mortgage on his home to medicine necessary for his daughter’s condition. He then reminds the man that he has a culinary degree and that now, despite the immediate gloom that he sees, his new life – that of pursuing his real love of French cooking – can start. The anger this man feels over the loss of his job slowly turns to a glimmer of hope, thanks to Binghman’s composure in a stressful moment. It’s one of the most beautifully written scenes for me in years and it’s also marvelously directed and edited (Dana Glauberman was the editor).


The film also works with the character of Natalie Keener, energetically played by Anna Kendrick. She is the one who wants to use the internet to coldly fire people and it’s Binghman who takes her under his wing to show her how ridiculous this decision truly is. I like the way that her character is at first put off by Bingham, then slowly sees the genius of his work and is so won over by him that she empties her soul, letting him know that her boyfriend has broken up with her. It’s a nice shift and I must credit Kendrick with fleshing out her character so marvelously, as this role in lesser hands might have come across merely as a bitchy young female executive trying to make it in the real world. There are things not to like about her character, but deep down, she’s just someone looking for security and Kendrick finds that in her character, while maintaining a nice edge throughout.

As for the other female in Bingham’s life, Alex Goran (played with great charm by Vera Farmiga), their relationship is all about flirting. They text suggestive messages and we’re led to believe that they sleep together, although we never see them actually do so. Alex is the fire in Ryan’s life, while Natalie is the stability. It’s nice the way the screenplay introduces them as two very disparate parts of Bingham’s life and then slowly enmeshes all three together in their daily business routine.



It’s the relationship between Ryan and Alex that eventually brings this movie to its most surprising twist. I won’t give it away, but it comes as a shock to the viewer and to me that shock is shock for its’ own sake. She has been lying to him about her life and as soon as I saw her real situation revealed, I couldn’t believe that she would have never told him the truth during all their time together. When she speaks with Ryan on the phone after he learns her secret, she calls him a “parenthesis” in her life. For some, this line may be a key to her character, but I thought this line was a bit over the top, more cruel than what the situation called for.

The lie that Alex leads means that the wedding sequence in which Ryan and she attend is a poorly devised plot device to make the ensuing surprise even more of a stunner. On its own, the wedding of Ryan’s sister is the least interesting sequence on the movie; after we learn Alex’s surprise, we feel cheated and realize the wedding was totally unnecessary. We’re supposed to see Ryan in this situation so that the light bulb goes on in his head and he can finally realize that he should commit to a woman and a more stable lifestyle. But this is cornball, Psych 101 stuff and it is clearly below the excellence of the rest of the story and screenplay.

By lying to us both figuratively and literally, the screenwriters keep “Air” from being an even better film than it could have been.


As for The Invention of Lying, the title cleverly takes us to a world where no one has ever lied. It’s a neat concept and co-writers (and co-directors) Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson create some great setups as well as write some pretty funny lines. A television commerical for Coke has the spokesman tell us not the qualities of the soft drink, but instead pleads with us to not stop buying it. An ad on a bus tells us that Pepsi is for those moments when “you can’t find a Coke.”

The film starts off brilliantly, with Mark Bellison (Gervais, in full inferiority complex), arriving at the home of Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner) for their first date. As no one can lie, Anna reminds Mark that she doesn’t really find him attractive, but doesn’t want to spend the night alone at home. Mark understands all too well, as his life is at a crossroads; he knows he will be soon fired for the poorly written screenplays about the Black Plague that he labors over.




The dinner conversation is hilarious, as the waiter lets Anna know that “this will be clumsy” as he finds her attractive. When he asks her if she’ll give him her number, she bluntly refuses (remember, she can’t lie). Mark tries to enjoy the evening, but knows that while he is attracted to her, she is out of his league, which she is all too happy to remind him of (even the waiter lets Mark know this fact).When he sees her to her door after dinner, she tells him that she enjoyed the evening more than she thought she would, which is about as positive a message as Mark can take away from their night out.

If only the movie could have kept up the hilarity and charm of these first few scenes! Unfortunately, the story gets predictable and despite a few clever scenes, such as when Mark tells a beautiful woman passing by that the world will end unless they have sex right away (and of course, she believes him, as remember – no one has ever lied), the film becomes a tired retread of “will the guy get the girl.” We know he will and while this can be fun to watch in some films, it isn’t all that entertaining here, despite the appeal of Gervais and Garner.



Another problem is that Gervais comes across as a sad sack and wants us to love – not just like – his character. While that sad puppy dog look of his is funny for a short time, it wears thin. Sympathy is not what makes this movie funny, it’s the spot on use of the truth to challenge us and make us a little uneasy. Like in many uncomfortable situations, we nervously laugh to relieve our uneasiness. That’s what’s best about this film.

So the messages in this film don’t always work. But at least the creators didn’t lie to us.