Descending From The Dead

For those who are interested in a bit of small-cinema production, George Clooney's newest film The Descendants might be on your hit list. Featuring Gorgeous George and enough of Fiji to chase away those autumn blues, it may seem the perfect anecdote to the end of summer.

 The Descendants, however, is a bit more than you would expect with your average Choc-Top. A refreshing change from cliches and a new surge of mindless-Naughties-movies, its stand-out point is that its main character is in a coma. Yes: a coma. Mouth open and ungraceful, mother-of-two Elizabeth King (Patricia Hastie) is a centrepoint for all emotion, past happenings, and, in the case of this film, discovered secrets. Her skin pales as those around her flush with anger and excitement, chasing down her past in neighbouring islands and cursing her misdeeds.

 Some who have watched the film may disagree that Elizabeth is the main focus; after all, there is much acting work devoted to the screen by Clooney and the two daughters he reconnects with. Yet the way the film is structured is much like an autobiography - it appears to be about the person who speaks (or writes) but is really an account of how other people have influenced them. In the case of The Descendants, this autobiographical form is played with: it is not about the main actors, plural,  but about the one actor who cannot speak. In this way, all the other actors speak for her silence; whether they are friends, family, or just people who knew her, her presence and now quasi-presence affects them all.

 In addition to this interesting film dynamic, there are some other winning qualities of the picture. The way in which it is shot is relaxed and realistic; spit between people's teeth and terrible Hawaiian shirts are no problem for this piece. The disconnectedness of the family is also well played out - evident but not over-dramatized. The best feature, by far, would have to be the sustainment of awkward moments, which grip the nerves in mysterious ways.

So, was it good? Sure. I certainly enjoyed it. Just another one to muse over a coffee to at your local independent.