PARADISO AMARO THE DESCENDANTS

Alexander Payne

1h 50m  •  2011

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Review by Beatrice On 13-Jun-2023

People thought that if you live in Hawaii, you're necessarily in paradise...

With this premise, Matt King begins, who finds himself 23 days into his wife's coma following an accident.

The living will desired by Elisabeth allows no further interventions, so all that's left is to disconnect the machines keeping her alive.

The story takes place during those days when this decision is confirmed, and Matt finds himself dealing, for the first time in his life, with his two daughters—the second one being rather undisciplined, and the first one harboring a very difficult secret.

His wife was cheating on him and was about to ask for a divorce, and Matt, always rather absent from family life, too dedicated to work and his immensely wealthy properties, now has to confront all these issues.

The daughter had discovered her mother's affair, which she had always denied, and now the father wants to uncover the identity of this man.

His father-in-law accuses him of merely saving money and not fulfilling the desires of his beloved daughter, while he believes he has protected his daughters and wife from an unhealthy, excessive wealth, forgetting that he has also protected them from his own presence.

G. Clooney, from the very first scenes, seems perfect for portraying this extremely confused, serious, ironic, at times funny and heartbreaking character.

The performance of the eldest daughter, Shailene Woodley, is unforgettable, an actress who will surely be talked about.

A crazy and beautiful film, in which at the point of death, Matt calls Elisabeth "my love, my friend, my pain, my joy".

An extremely touching story, a film about the absurdity of life and the fragility of love, its contradictions, its follies, its inaccessibility.

A film about love and its impossibility...

13-Jun-2023 by Beatrice