The Descendants

When the ashes are returned to the sea, the three leis are released with Scottie's large white flowered lei in the middle.

But the next shot from underwater shows a different lei in the middle.

Early in the film, there is talk about donating Elizabeth's organs.

If they really intended to do that, they would not have taken her off the ventilator and allowed her to die a slow death, as that would cause permanent hypoxic damage to the organs.

They would have declared her brain-dead, and harvested the organs promptly, while she was still breathing.

When they are returning the ashes to the sea, Alexandra's hair starts in a side braid but when the shot zooms out, her hair is up in a bun.

When Matt talks to Elizabeth alone in her hospital room, Elizabeth has her mouth opened in the distant shot but has it closed in the close-up shot.

The island of Kaua'i has a coconut tree building law.

The law states that any new construction cannot be "higher" than a coconut tree, which limits new buildings to four stories.

So any of the resort models shown could not be built.

When Matt is running on the beach and passes Brian Speer, he is wearing shoes.

But after running after Brian and then back to his (Matt's) place, Matt is running barefoot.

When Matt approaches Julie as she stands on the beach watching her kids, her hands are on her hips, with her thumbs facing forward.

After Matt comments the kids are a handful, her hands are still on her hips but her thumbs are facing backward.

When Matt is at his neighbor's house, all of the chairs have cushions.

When he sits down, the cushion is missing from the chair.

When Matt meets Brian for the first time in the beach house, Brian is wearing a blue and white checkered shirt.

While talking alone in the kitchen, the back collar of the shirt goes from folded up to down between shots.

As Matt is running down the beach when Brian approaches, the beach is "natural".

As Brian passes and we see him over Matt's shoulder you can see the beach has been raked, specifically where Brian is running.

As Matt turns and chases Brian, we see that the beach is back to it's "natural" look.

On the plane to the island to meet Brian Speer, Cousin Hugh is clearly seen seated in the row directly behind the actors.

After Julie has left the hospital room and Matt is looking at his wife, the right hand is away from the left one.

But in the next shot from behind Elizabeth the right hand is turned more towards her left hand, though she can't move her hands.

The door next to Elizabeth room is less open after Alex come out of the room and when she goes back along with Scottie, the door is more open and you can see a blue dispenser type bottle next to a small white hand towel.

The credits thank, among other entities, "Oahu County" and "Kauai County".

There is no "Oahu County" - Oahu is the island, but it is Honolulu County.

Kauai County does exist.

I recall watching this upon its theatrical release and having mixed feeling, although it left me feeling it was a rather jolly affair. Loved it this time around but it is not very jolly.

Matt King (George Clooney) is descendant from Hawaiian royalty. And he must decide on what to do with his inheritance of a large tract of land.

Alexander Payne has had a hiatus for seven years now. His last film before this one was Sideways, which was a hit with critics and audiences alike.

I had the privileged of attending the World Premier of the film, along with cast, director and a producer, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The person I attended with told me that he had read the synopsis and was fearing a depressing film.

What to make of this one? I consider myself sort of a fan of Alexander Payne, but I can say one thing for sure: I won't end up giving this one the maximum number of points, like I did the rest of his feature films.

The Descendants is a great portrayal of family. It shows it in a realistic way with the sort of characters you recognize in your own family.

Matt King (George Clooney) plays an excellent role of a husband who has to embrace the challenge of taking care of his daughters because of his wife's accident. On top of that, he has to make decision about the family land in Hawaii as the sole trustee makes him even more vulnerable.

While many documentaries have an overt message, this film was subtle yet effective in getting the conservation point across. It shows a very human side to the choices that are made daily to preserve and protect natural resources and our complicated cultural heritage.