The Descendants

Released: 2011
Drama
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley
Running Time: 115 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown: A family that lives in Hawaii suffers some major life traumas.  Based on the book by the same name.

So, Clooney plays a married man whose family owns a very large and very desirable piece of land in Hawaii.  While he and his family, like, 50 cousins, try to decide who to sell to, he also has to deal with his wife who is in a coma after a boating accident.
Turns out, the doctors did everything they could, but she's got a living will, and they will have to disconnect her from the machines soon.  He has the task of trying to re-connect with his two daughters and learn how to deal with information that came to light about his marriage only after she went into a coma.

This was a good solid movie, but it was incredibly depressing.  So much so, that it makes me wonder why someone would write a story like this, unless it was their own life story, or why they'd make a movie out of it.  There is no levity.

2 out of 5 for being good, but so depressing!  And it leaves you feeling a bit empty too.