Some themes from the movie, The Descendants

I was in the mood to see a movie today. It’s something that rarely happens because I usually don’t have the patience to sit through a movie. I remember seeing the previews for “The Descendant’s,” and I decided to treat myself to a Sunday matinee.  George Clooney is in it and he’s good scenery so I cuddled up in my chair with a bag of popcorn and a diet coke.  Really the only think I knew about the movie was that George Clooney was in it and it was more of a drama than a comedy.

 If you want a step by step replay of the movie, look it up on Wikipedia. I’m gonna mention some major themes that I felt were important.

As I drove home from the theater, I was thinking about the relationships of the main characters. The family basically was caught up in the everyday grind of life and pretty much took each other for granted. The husband, wife and two kids had several conflicts working within the family unit.  Then, the mother was in a boating accident and was hospitalized.  She remained in a coma for most of the movie, leaving her husband, Matt King (Clooney’s character) to tell his two daughters about their mother.  The oldest daughter knew her mother had an affair and there was conflict between them.  Words had been exchanged and Alex, the daughter, took for granted that her mom would always be around.  It was a lesson in forgiveness and also in goodbyes.

Another theme was a cross between forgiveness and revenge.  If you found out your spouse had cheated on you would you want revenge? I think most people would, but not King.  Instead, he decided to find his wife’s lover in an effort to give him a chance to say goodbye to her.

There are some smaller themes throughout the movie, as well, including the role of money in family dynamics.  From the beginning of the movie, there were references to stereotypes, which was another reoccurring theme. 

I thought it was a thought provoking movie, worth the two hours.  I was surprised at the amount of vulgarity used during the movie. If you are easily offended by profanity, I would recommend skipping this movie.