THE DESCENDANTS : New Trailer

In his first film since the Oscar-winning Sideways, writer-director Alexander Payne once again proves himself a master of the kind of smart, sharp, deeply felt comedy that was once the hallmark of Billy Wilder and Jean Renoir. Based on the bestselling novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants stars George Clooney as Matt King, the heir of a prominent Hawaiian land-owning family whose life is turned upside-down when his wife is critically injured in a boating accident. Accustomed to being “the back-up parent,” King suddenly finds himself  center stage in the lives of his two young daughters (excellent newcomers Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller), while at the same time being forced to decide the fate of a vast plot of unspoiled land his family has owned since the 1860s. Rooted in Clooney’s beautifully understated performance, Payne’s film is an uncommonly perceptive portrait of marriage, family and community, suffused with humor and tragedy and wrapped in a warm human glow. A Fox Searchlight release.

SYNOPSIS: 

From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar®-winning SIDEWAYS, THE DESCENDANTS is set in Hawaii and follows the unpredictable journey of an American family at a crossroads. Matt King (George Clooney), a husband and father of two girls, must re-examine his past and navigate his future when his wife is in a boating accident off Waikiki. He awkwardly attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters – 10 year-old precocious Scottie (Amara Miller) and rebellious 17 year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) – while wrestling with a decision to sell his family’s land. Handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries, the Kings own some of the last priceless virgin parcels of tropical beach in the islands.

When Alexandra drops the bombshell that her mother was in the midst of a romantic fling at the time of the accident, Matt has to take a whole new look at his life, not to mention his legacy, during a week of momentous decisions. With his girls in tow, he embarks on a haphazard search for his wife’s lover. Along the way, in encounters alternately funny, troublesome and transcendent, he realizes he’s finally on course toward rebuilding his life and family.

Fox Searchlight Pictures presents, an Ad Hominem Enterprises production, THE DESCENDANTS, directed by Alexander Payne with a screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash and based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The ensemble cast includes George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie.

The creative team includes producers Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, director of photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC, production designer Jane Ann Stewart, film editor Kevin Tent, A.C.E., costume designer Wendy Chuck, co-producer George Parra, music supervisor Dondi Bastone and executive music producer Richard Ford.

Rated R

Running time: 110 minutes

“Like” THE DESCENDANTS on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thedescendantsfilm

Meet Matt King (George Clooney) and his descendants and dig deeper into his family tree: http://www.king-family-tree.com

Fox Searchlight will release THE DESCENDANTS in theaters November 18, 2011