The Descendants

J’ai regardé The Descendants pour la première fois il y a deux ans et n’y suis jamais revenu jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Autant il m’avait laissé indifférent à l’époque, autant il m’a séduit cette fois-ci. Apparemment, c’est un film qui accroche l’humeur du spectateur ou pas. Et comme je suis un grand amateur de films doux-amers qui parlent de la vie telle qu’elle est, je suis satisfait. Clooney est brillant et j’ai un faible pour Shailene Woodley dans tout ce qu’elle joue. Un beau morceau. (11/10/2017)

Si mon histoire est forte, je n’ai pas besoin de la situer à Hawaï. À part ça, The Descendants jette un agréable regard sur une relation entre un père et ses filles ainsi que sur les adieux de leur mère mourante. Une dose de pathos, une dose de sincérité, une dose d’humour. Le tout est exécuté de façon subtile et sensible, mais le film n’a rien d’exceptionnel car il ne surprend pas et est peu dramatisé. J’ai élevé mon évaluation à cinq étoiles pour George Clooney, qui se fond parfaitement dans son rôle, et pour le personnage de Matthew Lillard, qui est probablement l’élément le plus lumineux et vivant du film. Cela dit, Sideways était une plus grande « révélation » et a laissé une marque plus profonde. (17/01/2012)

Spoilers - When I'm supposed to experience a family crisis with the main character, I don't want to sigh over Hawaii. George certainly delivers his performance to the fullest extent (even though the diligent father doesn't really suit him), but this bumpy journey is ultimately disappointing. It's the supporting characters led by the unsympathetic idiot Sid and, above all, the screenplay that are to blame. I can't engage in suffocating depression when a few seconds later I'm supposed to laugh at absurd situations, and I certainly don't enjoy watching a story that keeps going and going - and doesn't end. Matt doesn't come to terms with his wife's death or infidelity in any way, he merely functions in order to be there for his daughters, and five minutes before the closing credits he whispers the obligatory "Goodbye". It's only thanks to Clooney's brilliantly conveyed emotions that the third star also arrived on the sea wave. Unfortunately, Payne's approach to thought-provoking drama is once again not for me. (01/02/2012)

"Hello, it’s Clooney. You know, death is not an easy thing, especially when you have two healthy children, millions in your account, a house in Hawaii and a woman who cheated on you with a real estate agent because she was bored..." - "I know, George, but don't call me anymore..." Therapeutically toothless and an emotionally instant product that is numb and unable to admit that the true dignity of death in the film looks a little different than this messy warm road movie, which absolutely lacks anything bitter and realistic... I'm sorry to have to write this, but Clooney is a bit of a contemporary Jekyll and Hyde - on the one hand, a shrewd critic of contemporary society, on the other hand, an engineer of human hearts in the service of capitalist realism. Despite a couple of nice scenes (Clooney's dialogue - daughter in the pool or the scene with the wife's friends), I don’t really get The Descendants, just like Up in the Air. I don't think everything is OK in a film where, in the potentially strongest father-daughter dialogue, the father is replaced by a family therapist. Not even with the world that is impressed by this. My battle. (10/01/2012)

A solid relationship drama, with the novelty of Hawaii at the forefront, delivering a surprisingly distinctive, considerably relaxed atmosphere that contrasts with a tense story about a dying mother and a dysfunctional family. Alexander Payne has reinvented the world with Shailene Woodley, so thumbs up for that, and George Clooney plays his typical likeable character with aplomb. It's a shame about some of the expected second-rate twists, but it maintains good diction in key scenes thanks to a conversational script that's pretty polished. For the author of the renowned Sideways, this may not be entirely a coincidence, but his main weapon. (12/04/2016)