Going into this fall movie season, the George Clooney film most people had their eyes on was the actor’s directorial effort The Ides of March. Yes, he’s also starring in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, but that film had been playing second-fiddle to the political drama. That is, until audiences actually got a look at the thing. The Descendants premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last week and it was met with a very positive reception. Many noted it as a fine return to form for Sideways director Payne following a seven-year absence from the screen.

The story centers on a father who is suddenly tasked with taking care of his two daughters after the mother suffers a serious boating accident. A new clip has been released that features Clooney meeting his daughter’s boyfriend. Hit the jump to check it out. The Descendants opens November 18.

Here’s the clip (via The Playlist):

Here’s the official synopsis for The Descendants:

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.

-