Review of The Impossible (2012) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

I felt this was very much a moving film, or movie, from quite early on. Its a family drama film with obviously a fair emphasis on disaster, given its based on a true natural disaster. The main theme it covers is, of course, survival. I was quite taken aback by the scenes during the initial tsunami, by how realistic they seemed and I wondered quite how they'd managed to film them - there are some very wide shots used, that really brought home how devastating the tsunami was and made it seem all the more unbelievable that some of the family members managed to both survive and stay together. In many scenes, the camera quickly/suddenly jerks between below and above water shots and of the landscape in the distance. There are also shots above water which seemed quite shaky - ones in which Lucas is desperately searching a hospital for various missing relatives.

I felt it was a very immersive film - I could feel the desperation that the various characters must have felt. It is quite emotional and although I don't tend to cry when watching films, others may well want to have a tissue or two to hand. There was a strong feeling of desperation, as well as an element of hopelessness. As far as the musical score is concerned, there is a regular use of classical music, mostly sombre pieces for obvious reasons, featuring stringed instruments, which adds to the sense of melancholia. Perhaps about half way to three quarters of the way through the film, I did feel that the music was becoming a little distracting in being a bit loud but for the most part it was well used.

The cast I felt did a very impressive job in portraying the people involved. I felt that both Naomi Watts (who plays Maria) and Ewan McGregor (who plays Henry) gave very emotional, gripping performances in their parental roles. I also felt that Tom Holland did particularly well as Lucas, being a very brave young boy who battles as hard as he can to fight against the hellish situation he finds himself in. Other cast members include Samuel Joslin as Thomas, Oaklee Pendergast as Simon and Marta Etura as Simone.

I liked that the film showed the local community as being quite willing to help those affected and indeed Lucas is given some of the parental guidance and nurturing he clearly needed at the time, via some of the presumed local community. Content wise, this film contains some partial nudity, although not in a sexual way but more in terms of displaying bloody injury. This film definitely isn't for the easily squeamish or those who may be phobic of blood. It isn't explicitly graphic in an exploitative way but in what I thought to be, what I'd imagine to be, a realistic way.

It is, in essence, a chaotic, perhaps somewhat haunting but certainly emotive and very much immersive film and one of the better examples of its type. If I had to criticise it, I'd say that it perhaps is a little too overly sentimental, in a Hollywood sort of a way, in one or two parts and also that, while we were given a few minutes worth of introduction to the family members, we weren't really given much in the way of background information into their pasts or personalities and the like, which would have been good. While the film mainly depicts what happened from the viewpoint of the British family, I found myself wondering how the locals coped in the aftermath. The reactions of some tourists made me question the humanity in some people - selfishness clearly being displayed in one or two instances and by fellow Westerners, may I add. It is definitely a film about humanity, about both the good and the bad in some people coming to the fore. Yes you might think this all sounds a bit too sickly cringe-y, in which case this film isn't for you but I felt that, for me, overall, it worked remarkably well and its a film I'm relatively likely to remember for some time to come.

I'd gladly recommend this film for its impressive immersiveness, a good use of musical score, some good camerawork and cinematography, plus the great cast.