After suffering catastrophic injuries in a boating accident, Elizabeth King’s husband must take care of their two daughters, tend to her care and balance these responsibilities with the enormous task of deciding on the sale of acres of his family’s trusted land in Hawaii. Matt has never been the type of parent to be around, but the accident has turned his life upside down. His daughter Scottie has developed into a strange and foul-mouthed young girl, unaware of her mother’s condition. After getting his other daughter, Alexandra, out of school, he breaks the news to her that her mother is not waking up. In a fit of highly devastating emotions, she blurts out that her mother was having an affair, which had led to their falling out. Not having enough issues on his plate, Matt must now decide how he wants to handle the news of his wife’s infidelity and how this man figures into the equation of both his wife’s eventual passing and the deal of a lifetime in the sale of his land.
Starring: George Clooney (Matt King), Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King), Amara Miller (Scottie King), Nick Krause (Sid), Patricia Hastie (Elizabeth King), Beau Bridges (Cousin Hugh), Matt Corboy (Cousin Ralph), Matthew Lillard (Brian Speer), Judy Greer (Julie Speer), Barbara Southern (Alice Thorson), Robert Forster (Scott Thorson), Rob Huebel (Mark Mitchell)
Although George Clooney has turned out a number of excellent performances, some of his recent pictures have really sealed his identity as a memorable actor. Unlike his recent Oscar nod for Up in the Air, this character comes across as more confused and unsure of how to handle himself. While narrating the story, Clooney helps to set up his character’s challenges with juggling so many important responsibilities and contrasts his character’s understanding of his own emotions by describing them better than he can project them. In her first major film appearance, Shaliene Woodley gives an impressive performance as a girl how is asked to step up her responsibility when she has shown no signs of getting more mature. From unpolished to caring, she exhibits great growth throughout the film. As the younger daughter, Amara Miller is just perfect in her character’s larger comedic focus and portrayal of the innocence of a young girl in matters of life and death. Also adding mostly comic relief with a touch of plot development, Nick Krause highlights both the stereotypes and the misconceptions of surfers. Though there are many cousins of Clooney’s character in the film, it is Hugh played by Beau Bridges who deserves some attention for his character’s determination to direct the huge financial decision and attempt to rake in regardless of Clooney’s concerns.
Known for About Schmidt and Sideways, director Alexander Payne is no beginner to this type of comedic drama. This film is set up to seem like it is about the financial decision and the fight for survival for Elizabeth King initially, but it is really tailored with an interest in telling the story when ancestry meets modern day. Matt has this huge decision to make, which he is initially fairly sure he knows what to do. With a local firm interested in developing the land, he believes he may be able to turn his attention back to his family. The history of the land and how his family came into possession of it begins to complicate things as he thinks back to the camping trips on the beach and a memorable interaction with one of Scottie’s classmate’s parents. Though the land was his to do with as he pleased, there is this feeling hanging around that he cannot in good conscience give the land away to be commercialized instead of protected. His daughters start to play into the decision as well when those camping trips begin to feel a lot more meaningful and his commitment to his extended family fades with the increase in their greed and pressure.
Matt King also has his own identity with which to contend. He is challenged by the news of his wife’s infidelity and how he is supposed to handle it, considering her fatal accident and his desire to know the truth. Clooney delivers his performance as much through his facial expression and emotions as he does through his actual actions and lines. While trying to protect Scottie’s innocence, he does not seem to spare Alexandra because he needs her support in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Though Alexandra pushes him toward investigating the mysterious other guy, Matt knows all along that he will not have closure until he can confront this guy face-to-face and learn if they loved each other.
The two seemingly unconnected storylines (his wife’s health and infidelity with the decision to sell the land) get connected through Brian Speer (played by Matthew Lillard), who turns out to be the other guy and the realtor connected with the sale of the land. Matt’s feelings get caught up in the emotion and he must decide what is most important in his decision: his feelings about Brian, the pressure from his family, the history of the land or the needs of his daughters.
While Clooney certainly turned out a fantastic performance, the cast as a whole really made this film work. Highlighting that there is much more drama in Hawaii than the rest of the country may believe, this slice of life is one tempered with heartache, strange interactions and life-changing decisions.
Dan’s Rating: 4.0/5
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