The Descendants (2011)
82%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
65 wins & 148 nominations total
Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace
The Descendants is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and question your own mortality all at the same time. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave you feeling like you just went through a therapy session. George Clooney is at his best, but it’s the newcomer Amara Miller who steals the show. The cinematography is beautiful, but be warned, the subject matter is morbidly depressing. Overall, it’s a pleasant and easily digestible film, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.
Production Company(ies)
Horizon Pictures,
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hanalei, Kaua’i, Hawaii, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language including some sexual references
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Datasat SDDS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 2011 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2012
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, directed by Alexander Payne, written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Comedy/Drama, R, box office performance, $82.6M, reviewed by Deborah Ross, David Thomson, Philip Kemp, Sara Michelle Fetters, David Sexton, Robbie Collin, George Clooney as Matt King, Shailene Woodley as Alexandra King, Amara Miller as Scottie King, Nick Krause as Sid, Patricia Hastie as Elizabeth King, Beau Bridges as Cousin Hugh, produced by Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, MPAA rating, Dolby, SDDS, Hawaii, family drama, land trust, tragic accident, coma, death, fatherhood, parenting, grief, loss, emotional complexity, human drama, unpredictable messiness of life, eloquence, uncommon grace
Worldwide gross: $177,243,185
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $233,340,276
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 610
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 25,446,050
US/Canada gross: $82,584,160
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $108,721,871
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 693
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,190,096
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,566,759
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,226
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $26,329,957
Production budget ranking: 1,227
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $14,178,682
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $192,831,637
ROI to date (est.): 476%
ROI ranking: 271
Shailene Woodley – Alexandra King
Amara Miller – Scottie King
Nick Krause – Sid
Patricia Hastie – Elizabeth King
Beau Bridges – Cousin Hugh
Director(s)
Alexander Payne
Writer(s)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Producer(s)
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Film Festivals
Telluride
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
65 wins & 148 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (269) | Top Critics (72) | Fresh (234) | Rotten (35)
I liked it. I enjoyed it. I did not resent the time I’d spent watching it, although that may just be because I seriously have nothing better to do.
August 31, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
The Descendants is humane, decent, and close to real quality.
June 20, 2013
David Thomson
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
The film plays to Payne’s strengths – not just the emotional complexity and the constantly shifting kaleidoscope of moods, but his skill at eliciting in-depth performances from his cast.
January 31, 2012
Philip Kemp
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Few films have dealt with the concept of parental death as movingly, poetically and lovingly as this, delivering a strikingly powerful narrative that is as profound as it is honest.
January 27, 2012 | Rating: 4/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
Payne’s interest is the human drama: he’s very much the director-as-novelist and The Descendants has all the satisfactions of a story well told.
January 27, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
As is the way with Payne’s films, we go away feeling that every man is an island – and it’s only a matter of time before each of us finds ourselves deserted.
January 27, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The Descendants just doesn’t seem to me to have that much interesting or new to say
January 10, 2022
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
Clooney triumphs.
April 22, 2021
Owen Nicholls
NME
Although a pleasant, easily digestible film with beautiful cinematography, The Descendants is light fare with a few plot holes.
February 28, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
The subject matter is nothing short of morbidly depressing.
November 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
George Clooney at his best
September 25, 2020
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
it’s newcomer Amara Miller who practically steals the show.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com…
Plot
After a tragic accident leaves his wife in a coma, native islander Matt King struggles to cope with the stipulation in her will that she be allowed to die with dignity, while also facing pressure from relatives to sell their family’s enormous land trust.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Descendants features a standout performance from George Clooney.
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