The Descendants

It is somehow strange that all the hoopla surrounding this movie about the awards Clooney has already won and is yet touted to win has instigated neither any curiosity nor the usual “urgency” of watching a new movie in me. And something that doesn’t create any expectations will almost certainly impress me if it is good enough. So in short, I loved the movie.

Devil, they say, is in the details. If that is true, then going by yin and yang, there needs to be something Godly in the details too. And this is exactly what The Descendants attempts to delineate. It is an honest portrayal of the emotions any normal human being goes through when hit with tough times. The movie doesn’t attempt to preach Godliness nor does it try to glorify immorality. And there is a kind of foreign beauty in this nonchalance.

One might get bogged down by the challenges in life. One might learn a lesson or two from the suffering therein and move on. One might even enjoy the challenges for the heck of it. Whatever be the approach, it is certain that every mind goes through a predictable set of emotions in a given circumstance. There might be actors who are very good at portraying such roles and George Clooney was the last name that might have come to my mind, till now. No wonder there is so much of online hearsay about the awards he deserves for this role. It is not the role of an insurgent gay rebel. Nor is it the role of the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years. And heck no, it is not the role of an intimidating psychopathic rival to an equally intimidating superhero. And to come up with such a fine, containing and empathetic performance whilst playing the role of “just any other” normal person obviously deserves all sorts of praise there can be.

I would not like to talk much about the plot/story because frankly, there is none. The movie is just a series of unfortunate events that throw the life of a moderately moral guy (who, by the way is the descendant of a very rich family of royals) out of the ruts he has built for himself and makes him face some responsibilities he has ignored thus far in his life. It is not the sympathy you feel for the guy which makes you slowly but surely like the unfolding, but rather the familiar but uncomfortable tingle caused by what he goes through and does in those situations, which, by the way is occasionally faintly humorous. Talk about the irony in life!

This movie will be perceived differently by different people, depending on the gamut of emotions and sufferings they might have experienced. But I would risk a guess that it will become and stay popular. I have been craving for a good movie for the last few months, a state greatly aggravated by the deluge of incongruous (oh, calling them substandard would be giving them great praise) Telugu movies in the recent past. Maybe that’s why I really liked The Descendants so much. But then, maybe not! Anyway, don’t let me judge the movie for you!