Tracing the journey of attorney and land baron Matt King, who struggles with unexpected occurrences in his monotonous life,The Descendants was a critical and financial success, grossing $177 million against a $20 million budget and receiving acclaim for the performances of Clooney and Woodley, Payne's direction and writing, andKevin Tent's editing. The film was nominated for fiveOscars at the84th Academy Awards, includingBest Picture,Best Director for Payne, andBest Actor for Clooney, winning one forBest Adapted Screenplay. The film also won twoGolden Globe Awards;Best Picture – Drama andBest Actor – Drama for Clooney.
Matthew "Matt" King is aHonolulu-based attorney and the sole trustee of a familytrust of 25,000 acres (100 km2) of pristine land onKauai. The land has great monetary value, but is also a family legacy. While Matt has ably managed his own finances (as his father did), most of his cousins have squandered their inheritances. With the trust expiring in seven years due to therule against perpetuities, the King clan is pressuring Matt to sell the land for hundreds of millions of dollars. Amidst these discussions, a boating accident has rendered Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose. With Elizabeth hospitalized, Matt is forced to cope with his two troubled daughters, 10-year-old Scottie, who seeks attention by bullying other children, and 17-year-old Alex, who has a history of substance abuse and is away at a private boarding school on theBig Island. Elizabeth's coma is determined irreversible and herliving will directs all life support be discontinued. When Matt tells Alex, she reveals that Elizabeth was having an affair, which had caused a major rift between mother and daughter.
Close family friends, Kai and Mark Mitchell, tell Matt that Elizabeth was unhappy and loved Brian Speer, a real estate agent. She also wanted a divorce. After Matt informs friends about Elizabeth's condition so they can say goodbye, he decides Brian should have an opportunity to do the same. He and the girls, along with Alex's slacker friend Sid, travel to Kauai to find Brian. While there, Matt's cousin, Hugh, mentions that Brian is brother-in-law to Don Hollitzer, the developer the majority of the family wants to sell the land. Brian stands to make a small fortune from sales commissions for the properties that will be developed on the land. Matt and his daughters find Brian vacationing with his family at an oceanside cabin. Matt privately confronts Brian and informs him Elizabeth is dying, and offers him an opportunity to say goodbye. Matt asks Brian if Elizabeth loved him, and he says she did, but he only considered her a fling and still loves his wife and children. Brian then apologizes to Matt for the pain he caused and asks he not tell his wife.
Frustrated and fragile from recent events, Matt asks the doctor to explain Elizabeth's inevitable death to Scottie. Elizabeth's father, Scott, admonishes Matt for failing to be a more generous and loving husband. Withholding his wife's affair, Matt agrees with him, but Sid and Alex unexpectedly defend Matt. At the King family meeting, Matt overrules the majority vote of his cousins, preferring to keep the land and find a way around the rule against perpetuities. Shocked, Hugh warns Matt that the family will take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.
After learning about Brian's affair, his wife, Julie, comes to the hospital. She tearfully tells a comatose Elizabeth that she wants to hate her for "trying to destroy" her family, but that she forgives her. Matt comes to terms with his wife's infidelity and impending death. He kisses her goodbye, followed by Alex and Scottie. After she dies, they scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean offWaikiki.
Later, Matt, Scottie and Alex eat ice cream and watchMarch of the Penguins, covering themselves in a blanket that Elizabeth had at the hospital.
The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010.[8] Most of the film was shot inHonolulu and aroundHanalei Bay.[9] The location used as Matt King's house lacked thebanyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan.[9] For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their land, the film used a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) private cattle ranch on the south shore of Kauai, Kipu Ranch.Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of the novel on which the movie was based, had acameo as Matt King's secretary.
Postproduction began on June 14, and continued into February 2011.[11] The film was screened at the Telluride, Toronto[12] and New York film festivals and was originally scheduled to have a limited release on December 16, 2011, but was moved to November 23, 2011,[13] and then November 18, 2011.[1][14]
The Descendants opened in North America on November 16, 2011, in alimited release in 29 theaters, and grossed $1,190,096, averaging $41,038 per theater and ranking 10th at the box office. The film then had itswide release on December 9 in 876 theaters, and grossed $4,380,138, averaging $5,000 per theater and ranking seventh at the box office. The film was in cinemas for 156 days and its widest release in the United States was 2,038 theaters. The film ended up earning $82,584,160 domestically and $94,659,025 internationally for a total of $177,243,185.[4]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 268 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Funny, moving, and beautifully acted,The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace."[16] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[17] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[18]
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