In addition, because most of the original works are novels, and the movies are usually only 2 hours long, the biggest challenge of the adaptation of the script, apart from the contradiction between images and words, is the choice of plot. If you only do simple compression, such as the practice of several "Harry Potter" movie series, the entire movie is like a pool of backwater, a mixture of various components, but it is pointless and very boring. So the key to the success of the adaptation is to keep the spirit of the original book while streamlining it, or to focus on new themes in the context of the original book. The successful examples of the former include a number of British adaptations of literary masterpieces and films, and the successful examples of the latter include Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" and "Spider's Nest" (respectively adapted from Shakespeare's "King Lear" and "Macbeth"), etc. .
The reason for talking so much is to say that it is not easy to adapt the script. The writer and director of "Descendants", Alexander Payne, has been a writer and director, focusing on family-oriented social issues, usually in a comedy way, including the latest "Descendants." I haven't read the original novel, so I can't compare the achievements of the script adaptation, but at least the distribution of images and language in this film is relatively harmonious, the plot is detailed and the theme is also very prominent, which is all the credit of the script.
"Descendants" is about a man who worked diligently but was alienated from his family. His wife suffered an accident and became a vegetative state, and his two daughters were in constant trouble. At this time, he learned that his comatose wife had been having an affair, and he decided to take his daughter to look for it. The wife's affair object. This man who was driven to a dead end by life has no deep meaning in finding George Clooney, the seemingly irrelevant fifth diamond king, to play the role. Both of them are alienated from their families and indifferent to their relationships, so they appear clumsy and powerless when dealing with family and relationships. This George Clooney is indeed in place in the film, but it seems that there is no irresistible convincing to win the Oscar.
Personal summary, this film talks about four aspects of family responsibility: communication, forgiveness, farewell, inheritance. From the opening narration, it can be seen that the protagonist Matt works diligently, brings a source of life for the family, and at the same time plans the property, so that his daughter can "have the money to do something, but not enough to do nothing" in the future. He thinks he has fulfilled his responsibility for the family. However, he neglected the most important communication. Everyone's heart is not as simple as the appearance, and the appearance of each character is what the protagonist Matt sees. The wife is addicted to extreme sports because she has no emotional outlet; the appearance of the eldest daughter is a typical bad girl, who escaped from the dormitory in the middle of the night and was drunk and cursing, but through communication, you can find that she is a reasonable person (and is Beauty! Shailene Woodley!); the younger daughter is also a sign of a bad girl, all kinds of swear words come at her fingertips, but after the relatives give her the attention and company she really longs for, her purity shows again; the eldest daughter's boyfriend is rude He looks like an idiot, but he also has his own hidden wisdom; his father-in-law's cruel and unreasonable words are actually just from his love for his daughter. Their annoying appearance is really just a fragile protection for themselves.
The wife has an affair, but she has become a vegetable and will die soon. What can she blame now? I found a man who made me wear a cuckold, but found that he also has a happy family. Facing his kind and beautiful wife and lovely children, what can I get by ruining their lives? This is not a question of when the grievances will be repaid, it is a question of having the courage to admit and take responsibility for what one lacked in the past. The wife and the man were at fault, but their estrangement from the family was an irreplaceable cause. Forgiveness is the beginning of taking responsibility.
Knowing that his wife will never wake up again, it is also difficult to lead the family to say goodbye to her bravely. This not only includes the reluctance to part with the family, but also includes letting go of the pain caused by his wife and continuing his life. The phrase "Goodbye my love, my friend, my pain, my joy" at the end of the film is exactly what it means.
Regarding the inheritance, the video stops at the end. Matt is of mixed Native Hawaiian descent and is a trustee of a large ancestral land. Hawaii was invaded by the United States from the natives, so there is also a clear cultural conflict. Whether to sell or keep this virgin land symbolizes the contradiction between tradition and the times, as well as the choice of the legacy (spiritual) of the ancestors.
It's just that this subject has been said a little too much.
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