Only Oscar-winning writer-director Alexander Payne (Sideways) would think to cast the famously handsome George Clooney as a dishevelled dad in his outstanding adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings's tragicomic novel. Clooney dials down the glamour to play Matt King, a Hawaii real-estate attorney with a propensity for unflattering shirts and ill-fitting trousers. When Matt's wife, Elizabeth, ends up in a coma after a water-skiing accident, Matt must learn to balance the parenting of his resentful daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley, The Secret... Life of the American Teenager), with the sale of a pristine plot of Kauai land that stands to make the King cousins, including scruffy Hugh (Beau Bridges), a fortune. As Elizabeth's condition worsens, Matt contacts friends and relatives, like her fiercely protective father (Robert Forster), so that they'll have the chance to say goodbye. In the process, he finds out she was having an affair with realtor Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard, effectively cast against type), so he and the girls, including Alex's hilariously mellow friend, Sid (Nick Krause), go on an island-hopping trip, ostensibly to add Brian to the mix, but Matt really wants to find out what his wife saw in the guy. His journey from naiveté to knowledge brings out Clooney's soulful side, creating a believably flawed, deeply sympathetic figure. If Payne leans too heavily on the slack-key soundtrack, his love for his characters, including Judy Greer as Matt's female counterpart, results in his most emotionally satisfying movie to date. --Kathleen C. Fennessy [show more]
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play From the celebrated director of Sideways (Alexander Payne) comes Oscar-winning film that Rolling Stone calls near perfect"Academy Award Winner George Clooney his best performance to date" (Philip French The Observer) and newcomer "Shailene Woodley shines" (Total Film) Experience a bittersweet drama about a detached father attempt to reconnect with his two daughters and their often-hilarious quest for the truth in this observed and brilliantly acted comedy drama" (Sunday Express)
Comedy drama from director Alexander Payne starring George Clooney as a lawyer forced to rethink his approach to life after his wife is hospitalised following a serious accident. As trustee for a large estate, Matt King (Clooney) has had a fairly easy life to date. Living in the tropical island of Hawaii, with his financial future secure, King has grown complacent to an extent that is only brought home to him when a boating accident sends his wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), into a coma. Left in sole charge of the daughters he has largely neglected, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alex (Shailene Woodley), Matt is called to face his responsibilities as an adult. However, when he discovers that Elizabeth had been having an affair in the months leading up to the accident, a test of his newfound emotional maturity is presented. Matt sets out to confront Elizabeth's lover and to find out the truth underlying the affair. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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