The Descendants

George Clooney turns in a fine performance as a middle-aged man whose family life appears to be on point of imploding in this drama from Alexander Payne, director of Sideways and About Schmidt. Hawaiian property lawyer Matt King is in the midst of sensitive negotiations over a tract of unspoilt land that's culturally significant to indigenous Hawaiians, and which his family has inherited, when tragedy strikes. His wife has been involved in a waterskiing accident and now lies gravely ill and comatose in hospital. This should bring him closer to the daughters he's neglected: 10-year-old Scottie and 17-year-old Alex. He's a bit taken aback by their foul-mouthed squabbles, but he soon realises that they have deeper problems than a fondness for expletives - and, on top of that, they also reveal that they've been holding back a secret about their mother which comes as both a shock and a catalyst for action to Matt.