5.0
out of 100
Metascore®Universal acclaim Based on a weighted average of all critic review scores.
A sample of reviews from critics across the country.
To call The Descendants perfect would be a kind of insult, a betrayal of its commitment to, and celebration of, human imperfection. Its flaws are impossible to distinguish from its pleasures.
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Another beautifully chiseled piece of filmmaking - sharp, funny, generous, and moving.
What happens is that we get vested in the lives of these characters. That's rare in a lot of movies.
It's a precarious balance, but Payne blends wit and poignancy so artfully it feels like an exquisitely choreographed dance.
Rarely has a contemporary movie taken in so much life and revealed it with such depth of feeling.
Nearly every detail sources directly back to Kaui Hart Hemmings' sensitively crafted novel, and yet, Payne's triumph is in striking the right tone -- and knowing what to leave unsaid.
It makes The Descendants a tragedy infused with comedy and calls for a balancing act from filmmaker and star alike, a tightrope they navigate with nary a wobble.
In short, The Descendants is the latest exhibit in Payne's careful dissection of the beached male, which runs from Matthew Broderick's character in "Election" to Jack Nicholson's in "About Schmidt" and Paul Giamatti's in "Sideways."
I'm a notorious softie, and I found things to like about the film, most particularly Clooney's performance; but I remained untouched.
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Movies.com Critic
A less painful Payne.
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Mahalo, Mr. Payne
