Director Alexander Payne is a man who specialises in what I like to call deliciously dark delights.

Although he has only brought us a small number of said delights in his as-yet short career, it’s more than fair to suggest he’s a success.

After all, this is an auteur whose track record includes About Schmidt and Sideways; two rather excellent films that follow abnormally negative characters through fundamentally depressing situations.

Realistically, these are movies that shouldn’t be funny but at times are unavoidably so thanks to Payne’s uncanny knack of weaning unlikely humour from the oddity of human behaviour under dire circumstance.

A unique and favourable trait in a director indeed, as making light of any heinous situation both tactfully and successfully is a truly rare and admirable skill, secretly enjoyed by all.

Payne also has a remarkable ability to asses a strong script and subsequently withdraw top notch, against the grain performances from his stars.

Where The Descendants is concerned, nothing has changed.

When Hawaiian land mogul and workaholic father Matt King (George Clooney) returns home from a business trip to discover his wife has fallen into a coma after a freak boating accident, he and his two distant daughters pull together in attempt to come to terms with the news. Unfortunately, another unpleasant surprise lurks just around the corner.

Commencing with the typically cool, charcoal, dulcet tones of a George Clooney voice over, watching this film is a bit like settling into a comfortable armchair. Only, after a fashion, you realise that the armchair’s actually a little broken and not quite in position you’re used to.

Dispensing with the usually suave, cool, sophisticated personas we’re so acclimatised to with Clooney characters, Matt King presents us with a seriously troubled, weary and noticeably ageing man, newly burdened with weighty domestic responsibilities to which he is not accustomed.

Essentially, this is a stereotypical, gender-defined breadwinner who has focused his entire life’s work on the career rather than the home sphere.

Thus, when he is forced to try and unify the remaining family trio by repairing the dysfunctional relationships he has with his two difficult daughters, he finds himself hopelessly stranded.

He is a man in denial; a father who falls abruptly to earth when the magnitude of the situation at hand, and in particular his daughters’ disregard for his lame attempts at authority, really hits home.

It’s a performance that cuts the bleak figure of a man who suddenly finds himself very much alone despite the fact that life goes on around him, oblivious to his predicament.

Effectively, he is a man coming to the horrible realisation that he’s been an absent failure in the eyes of his wife and kids and can only now take the necessary precautions to right the wrongs he should have noticed long ago.

It’s a strong performance, which is as subtle as it is poignant however, it’s not the sort of performance that will surprise, shock and overwhelm as has been suggested on every billboard, poster, advert and passing child’s forehead over the last two weeks.

Come on people, it’s no revelation that George Clooney can act.

Jesus, the guy’s been at it for as long as Paul Daniels!

Well, perhaps not but cripes, we all know the man’s got chops. We’ve seen him do serious before, we’ve seen The American, hell, we’ve seen his Nespresso ads. What further proof do we need?

The guy’s a stone cold pro.

This is just the Cloonster minus the charm and swagger that he so naturally exudes the rest of the time. You know, as you might imagine him while at home, fluffing his phoenix down pillows or taking a poo.

Perhaps this is the point, it’s a brilliantly authentic, no frills demonstration of naturalistic acting, perfectly executed for the role but it’s by no means as mind blowing as all the nominations decree it.

The daughters Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller) on the other hand, almost completely steal the film; Woodley in particular pitching in with an exceptional turn opposite her significantly more experienced co-star.

We shall undoubtedly be seeing a lot more of her.

Then of course, there’s comedic foil Sid (Nick Krause), Alexandra’s friend and shoulder to cry on, who is just brilliant.

Little more should be said of Sid because he’s just so enjoyable that he must simply be witnessed.

The only significant downside, although synonymous with Payne’s directorial style to date, is a distinct lack of visual flamboyance throughout the piece.

It seems such a shame to set a movie somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii but not capitalise on its exuberance. Instead, the appearance of the film is, well, slightly bland and uninspiring in truth but then this is a minor bugbear.

Ultimately, The Descendants is classic Payne – bleak, caustically humorous, entirely immersive and enlivened by superbly written three dimensional characters brought to life by solid performances from all involved.

Released: 27th January
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Cert: 15
Length: 115 minutes
Star Rating: ****

By Richard Kattan