George Clooney has received a whole bunch of Oscar nominations and awards in his career, yet the support he's been receiving for his current Best Actor nod seems almost unprecedented. This isn't to say his other work hasn't been incredible - there's no doubt that he deserved his gong for Syriana, but there's something about his role in Alexander Payne's The Descendants that has the power to touch everyone. He's not a CIA agent, he's just a normal bloke with a spectrum of emotions so raw and honest it leaves you wondering if the secret in Clooney's closet is his hush-hush wife and two kids. 

Directed and adapted from Kaui Hart Hemmings' novel by the awesome Alexander Payne (Sideways/Election), the tragicomedy follows the story of a Matt King (Clooney) whose life as a workaholic land-baron is thrown into turmoil when a boating accident puts his wife in coma, leaving him to reconnect with his two daughters. As much as we get to see a new side to Clooney, a Hawaii we've rarely seen on the screen before forms the backdrop - it's not paradise, it's a place where the same shit happens and the same shit has to be dealt with in the same way - learning a few lessons, whether from a ten-year-old, teen, stranger or disgruntled in-law.

No surprise that the guy who brought us Reese Witherspoon's surprise performance in Election has once again struck gold with the young talent; Amara Miller, who plays Matt's 10-year-old is both devastating and hilarious in equal measure, while Shailene Woodley who plays the older Alexander is without a doubt this year's One To Watch. Props for the casting of Matthew Lillard and Judy Greer as the couple either side of the falling dominos.

If you've seen Sideways, you'll know that Payne is at genius when it comes to balancing emotions whilst keeping things pace-y enough to avoid drama-overload - just as you think you've got someone figured, a whole new side is uncovered. Take Alexander's boyfriend (Nick Krause) who goes from dimwit to intriguing in just one touching scene. Interestingly, at a time when silent feature The Artist is being lauded, several of The Descendant's strongest scenes are dialogue-less. For instance, when Clooney follows Lillard along the beach, he doesn't need to utter a word - we're completely with him, a combination of good acting and good script (a script isn't just made up of lines, suckers).

The Descendants might not have the immediate impact of some of Clooney's other vehicles, but its gentle charm worms it way in like only the most human kind of films can. We've decided to give it 10/10 because we just can't fault it. None of the character are perfect, but that might be why the film is.