The Descendants is a film about this lovely fellow, Matt King, portrayed by George Clooney, who is in the midst of two pretty big situations; the sale of a huge plot of land, which could land him a pretty big cheque split between him and his family (The Descendants). The other, is that his wife has just gone into a coma. From here, the film gets a lot more interesting, not to mention emotional.
As King travels around Hawaii (where he and his family reside) to deliver the news about his wife's coma along with his 17 year-old daughter Alex (played by Shailene Woodley), and her 'friend' Sid ( played by Nick Krause). As they travel around the beautiful islands of Hawaii, Matt discovers a few things about his wife prior to her accident, and learns that there's a pretty big connection between his wife's life and the sale of the land. Drama ensues.
As expected, Clooney doesn't disappoint in his phenomenal performance, as a struggling father and a conflicted 'Descendant', who is trying to make a choice that could affect his entire world, and others around him.
Alex, King's daughter shined as she delivered her scenes with undeniable, pure emotion, though her character was the archetypal 'drama-queen teen', she added a certain twist to her character that made her that much more believable.
Clooney deserves another mention, as his vulnerability as a somewhat-estranged parent reflected perfectly on his ability to deal with the grief from his drama-queen daughter.
The Descendants is a beautiful film with beautifully shot scenes and a wonderful soundtrack.