Clooney excels in The Descendants

Who’s in it? George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard

The plot Set in Hawaii, this at-times tragic but oddly funny and deep-down heartwarming film tells the tale of father-of-two daughters, Matt King (Clooney), who is faced with a series of tough decisions when his family’s 150-year-old land in Ohau is up for sale – if he as the trustee chooses to sign off on it – and his wife, after a boating accident, falls  into a coma (her will states that she wants off the life support).

Things get even more complicated when his moody, rebellious teenage daughter Alex (played by new ‘it’ girl, Shailene Woodley, who beat out Amanda Seyfried for the role), tells him that mum had in fact been cheating on him before her accident.

We know, we know, this all sounds as depressing as a Lionel Shriver novel – but there is a lightness of touch to the movie that means it never weighs you down too much, even though it tackles issues like grief, anger, greed and infidelity head on.

George won the Best Actor Golden Globe for his turn as the father, husband, landowner and emotional barometer of this film – and he certainly deserved it. He’s the whole story’s anchor.

Rating 5 out of 5