BEFORE: I had a lot of different ways to get here in the chain, and it's tempting to explore some of the other outros I could take - I could have put "The Contender" last and followed the Gary Oldman connection to that last Batman film, or to "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and the rest of the spy chain. But a more holistic approach means I've got to try to work in all of the films left on the list, many of which were released in 2011 and 2012, and that means following the Clooney thread tonight. I will get to those other films via other paths.
THE PLOT: A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.
AFTER: It took a while for me to connect with this film for some reason - at times it almost felt like half of a film, maybe because the wife is in a coma, and we don't really get to see her as a full character. It seems like an odd way to tell a story, and the film continually makes odd choices. But it's about imperfect people, so I shouldn't expect it to be perfect itself. And by no means should I expect car chases or explosion effects, because it's just not that kind of film.
It's just about a man trying to keep his family together at a difficult time, in the same way "Rachel Getting Married" was just about a wedding, or "Brokeback Mountain" was just about herding sheep. (That's all it was about, right? That's all I choose to remember...) Eventually it becomes about more, and I started to realize it's about being at a crossroads.
Sometimes it's easy to tell when we're at a crossroads, or perhaps a fork in the road is a better metaphor. Something momentous happens, someone is born or someone dies, or someone loses their job or ends a relationship. Here Clooney's character is forced to confront the difficult truth about his wife's health, and additionally he is on the cusp of signing a big business deal on behalf of his family (the "descendants" of the title, inheritors to a large parcel of Hawaiian land).
And then along comes another revelation about his wife, at the worst possible time, and this puts him at another crossroads. He can take one path and track down someone who's wronged him, or choose to put this aside. It's these choices that define us - do we speak up or remain silent? Punch someone out or offer them forgiveness?
But this film also underscores one of the points I made during Romance Month - you can get married, live happily with your partner for years, but even at its best, there's a non-permanence that needs to be addressed, or at least considered. You've still got a 50% chance of being the one left behind, the one cleaning out someone's possessions, and that will make you the lucky one, though it sure won't feel like it at the time. On top of that, there's also the chance of being hurt by infidelity, so really there's no way to love someone deeply without putting yourself at risk. I don't mean to sound cynical, I'm just trying to face the parameters of the situation.
So some movies have trouble seeming "real", this one is all too real. And it somehow made it to the list of "Top 1,000 Movies to See Before You Die", and I can't tell if that's ironic or not. But cross another film off that list, though I'm left wondering if it deserves to be there.
Also starring Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Matthew Lillard (last seen in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"), Robert Forster, Beau Bridges (last seen in "The Fabulous Baker Boys"), with cameos from Rob Huebel, Michael Ontkean.
RATING: 5 out of 10 Aloha shirts
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