New trailer for Alexander Payne’s The Descendants gives us a humorously troubled George Clooney

THE DESCENDANTS, from writer-director Alexander Payne (SIDEWAYS) and starring George Clooney (THE IDES OF MARCH), is probably the most out-and-out “Oscar film” to come down the pike of late, particularly because of how it’s being positioned by its marketing. I like Payne and his films, however, so this is not necessarily a bad thing. Plus, the fact that the film’s been getting raves since making the festival rounds doesn’t hurt either.

Anyway, the latest trailer is simpler, more sparse, but funnier and less manipulative than the film’s first. Check it out below and let us know what you think!

THE DESCENDANTS opens November 18th.

Synopsis: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning SIDEWAYS, set in Hawaii, THE DESCENDANTS is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.