Saw The Descendants, a film about a lawyer who controls the finances of his dynastic family. He lives in Hawaii and is about to make his family another small fortune via a land deal but alas, et in arcadia, his wife falls into a coma. His internal conflict between the mechanical management of the land deal and the personal angst of losing his wife is contrasted with the soulful, peaceful, timeless beauty of Hawaii. This is a film about mercy.
Pain in various forms is dealt with in various ways. Throughout, the protagonist neurotically tries to come to grips with his own emotions, usually (hilariously) looking to his teenage daughter for advice. I got the sense that he hadn't really dealt with things by the end so much as just accepted them, but in this way too life goes on. The film has a very literary feel due to its intense but oblique focus on human affairs.
The film also connects the island and the family. They are a plastic imitation of what they once were, loaded down with McDonalds' and mosquitoes, saddled with money and private educations, they are diminished but still worth something. They are also, it is pointed out, a whole which is drifting apart. In the face of this geologic timescale, what matters one life?
I feel this film got the better of me. For once I don't blame sleepiness or coffee, I think this is just above my head and dealing with emotions I haven't had to face yet. This is adult in a way that porn is not. This film is sensitive, compassionate, and ultimately very merciful.
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