Country: USA
Year: 2011
Duration: 110'
Matt King, a descendent of Hawaii’s royalty, is uncertain whether or not he should sell a priceless tropical beach. He is always surrounded by relatives and friends who are interested in the future of his legacy. When his wife goes into a coma after a boating accident, he finds himself on his own with his two adolescent daughters, Alexandra and Scottie, and has to cope with his past as an absentee father. This difficult situation is further aggravated when he discovers that his wife has been cheating on him, and he decides to go on a trip with his daughters in search of his wife’s lover. “I was struck by the novel because the story is full of emotions and it takes place in an exotic setting. The story could probably have been told anywhere but it becomes unique because it is set in Hawaii. It is deeply rooted in the place where it all happens but at the same time its themes are universal. Shooting a film in Honolulu was great because the location is different from what you usually see at the movies: Hawaii’s social fabric is completely different from ours.”
Biography
film director
Alexander Payne
(Omaha, NE, USA, 1961) graduated in film studies from UCLA and debuted with Citizen Ruth, which was presented at the Sundance Festival. In 1999, he directed Election, which received numerous awards, including best screenplay from the Writers’ Guild of America and the New York Film Critics Circle. Thanks to his next feature film, About Schmidt (2002), Jack Nicholson received the Oscar for best actor; the film also competed at Cannes and inaugurated the New York Film Festival. Two years later, Sideways won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, and was also nominated for best film and best director. In 2011, he co-wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and directed The Descendants, starring George Clooney and selected at TFF. The following year, he helmed the black-and-white road movie Nebraska, featuring Bruce Dern, which won the Best Actor award at Cannes. In 2017, he directed Downsizing, starring Matt Damon, which was selected in competion at Venice. In 2023, he directed The Holdovers, presented at Telluride and starring Paul Giamatti.
FILMOGRAFIA
Carmen (cm, 1985), The Passion of Martin (mm, 1991), Citizen Ruth (La storia di Ruth - Donna americana, 1996), Election (id., 1999), About Schmidt (A proposito di Schmidt, 2002), Sideways (Sideways - In viaggio con Jack, 2004), Paris, je t’aime (ep. 14e arrondissement, cm, 2006), Hung (ep. pilota/Pilot, cm, tv, 2009), The Descendants (id., 2011), The Descendants (Paradiso amaro, 2011), Nebraska (id., 2013), Downsizing (Downsizing – Vivere alla grande, 2017), The Holdovers (The Holdovers – Lezioni di vita, 2023).
Cast
& Credits
regia/director
Alexander Payne
soggetto/story
dal romanzo Eredi di un mondo sbagliato di/from the novel The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
fotografia/cinematography
Phedon Papamichael
montaggio/film editing
Kevin Tent
scenografia/production design
Jane Ann Stewart
costumi/costume design
Wendy Chuck
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
George Clooney (Matt King), Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King), Amara Miler (Scottie King), Judy Greer (Julie Speer), Matthew Lillard (Brian Speer), Beau Bridges (il cugino/Cousin Hugh), Robert Forster (Scott), Nick Krause (Sid), Patricia Hastie (Elizabeth King), Mary Birdsong (Kai ), Rob Huebel (Mark Mitchell)
produttori/producers
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
produzione/production
Ad Hominem Enterprises
coproduttore/coproducer
George Parra
distribuzione/distribution
Fox Searchlight Italia
