The Descendants
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: November 16, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 43 Critic Reviews
Positive:
38
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
55
MovielineStephanie ZacharekNov 16, 2011
The Descendants is an ultra-polished picture in which every emotion we're supposed to feel has been cued up well in advance. There's nothing surprising or affecting about it. Not even Clooney, who works wonders with the occasional piece of dialogue, can save it. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensNov 17, 2011
It's such a disappointment that The Descendants isn't a better movie than it is. In this soap opera disguised as a comedy, Payne, who was always a master at balancing sharp satire with an essential humanism, has traded his tart lemon center for a squishy marshmallow one. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesNov 16, 2011
Alexander Payne has won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay (Sideways), but you'd never guess that from this clumsily written drama: characters keep explaining things that their listeners would already know, and the first couple reels are so thick with expository voice-over that you may think you're listening to a museum tour on a set of headphones. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. HobermanNov 15, 2011
It left me cold. The pathos is as unearned as the protagonist's privilege. Read full review
50
TimeRichard CorlissSep 14, 2011
I'm a notorious softie, and I found things to like about the film, most particularly Clooney's performance; but I remained untouched. Read full review
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