Trouble in paradise: 'The Descendants' review

MANILA, Philippines - Anytime a film begins with a voice-over, it's almost always certain that by the time the credits start rolling, you'll end up learning a life lesson or two even if the situation the main character is facing has a remote possibility of happening to you.

Consider George Clooney's character, lawyer Matt King, in the film "The Descendants", directed by Alexander Payne. Matt is beyond wealthy with his clan practically owning a relatively large chunk of Hawaii. But, as the opening scenes of the film would imply, Hawaii isn't exactly the sort of paradise that everybody outside of it would imagine. Poverty and hunger are much a part of the locals' daily lives. And for the rich, they likewise face personal problems that don't exactly care for one's social status.

Matt, who is rarely home because of work, is suddenly brought back to a life he has grown unfamiliar to after his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) slips into a coma resulting from a boating accident. But as he keeps watch over Elizabeth, hoping for her to get better, he is also left to perform the role of sole parent to his two daughters: the rebellious 17-year-old Alex (Shailene Woodley) and the adorable 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller). For all his professional acumen, Matt clearly knows nothing about parenting as he repeatedly has to ask those around him what to do.

Then there's the issue regarding the selling of their ancestral land, all 25-000 acres of it, to another Hawaiian native who is looking to develop it into a resort. As if things couldn't get any more difficult for him, Matt finds out about Elizabeth's infidelity and he becomes obsessed with finding out the identity of the man his wife had been seeing.

It is here that Clooney effectively portrays a man who has every reason to go insane with all the things that are happening at the same time, and yet he manages to maintain his composure and show the strength he knows is expected of him. He only displays his weakness in private and in one particular scene, the facade that Matt has had to put up crumbles and it is here where the audience is expected to feel a connection.

While the premise of the film is one that by all means should be depressing, "The Descendants" is not without its share of comedic scenes and unexpected dialogue, which, surprisingly is as honest as it can get in a real world scenario.

Based on the a novel of the same name by Hawaii-born Kaui Hart Hemmings, "The Descendants" took home best drama in the recent Golden Globes and a best actor trophy for Clooney.

Hemmings says that the title of the film and book is significant because it examines the idea of legacy and what that means.

“It alludes to what you inherit, who you're descended from and what you are going to leave behind," Hemings said. "A lot of your inheritance is already set out for you by the people who came before you and now Matt King is trying to give his children a better inheritance that’s not monetary."