Sure, I know I can't single-handedly keep the Westhampton Theater open, but I can try.
Tonight I had lots of company in my effort and saw what will surely be called one of the best movies of the year.
I could be wrong about that, though, because it's not mindless escapism; it's about the way life sometimes knocks you down and then kicks you a few more times as you try to get up.
Not that I would know anything about that.
"The Descendants" has a lot going for it: George Clooney and a Hawaiian setting, not to mention a trailer that makes it look like a goofy comedy.
While it does have moments of comedic brilliance, they're the kind that life unexpectedly hands you when you're trying to wade through the tough stuff.
The kind that don't make anything better, but relieve the heaviness briefly.
Because the intertwined plots were some of life's heaviest.
When do you pull the plug on a comatose loved one? How do you forgive infidelity? How do you accept your own failures?
Once the climax had been reached and the ends tied up, there was a brief scene at the end which provided the closest thing to a feel-good "we will move forward" moment in the entire film.
It wasn't a happy ending, but it was about as good as it could get considering the storyline.
To me, it felt totally unnecessary but very typical of an American film. Still, it's hard to argue with hope and Hawaiian music.
Walking out, an older woman behind us told her companion, "That was interesting...and edgy."
Hmm. I would say it was about as edgy as life.
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Saw this movie last night. I thought the happy ending was that the land was saved from development and the family sharing ice cream.
ReplyDeleteI thought the ice cream-eating scene felt gratuitous. I thought it was enough that the land deal had been temporarily averted and Mom's ashes scattered.
ReplyDeleteEither way, it was still a well-made movie.