mainland. (By the way, “mainland” is the term Hawaiians use to refer to the lower 48 U.S. states in the same manner that people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland refer to the rest of Europe as “the continent.”) Matt King’s wife is in the hospital on life support after suffering from a horrific boating accident off of Waikiki Beach. After being informed by her doctor that she will not recover, he must inform his young daughters, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller), of the tragic news.

The relationship he has with them is somewhat estranged; particularly from his older daughter Alexandra. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when he tells his daughter Alexandra that hermother is not going to live long. She goes underwater in their swimming pool to weep from the news. She in turn informs him that her mother was having an affair with another man. It is later implied that this was partly the result of Matt (George Clooney) and his wife growing apart over the years. There are little clues in the set design of the film to inform us that their marriage had grown apart and that the family is estranged like the way the backyard pool has leaves in it and is apparently seldom maintained. Once this tragic affair is revealed, the father and daughter begin a search together to find the man the woman was having an affair with. It turns out the guy is