Review of The Impossible (2012) by Harry W — 19 Jun 2013

The Impossible is one of the finest disaster films in existence.

The Impossible doesn't rely merely on visual effects and explosive noises, but rather uses it minimally as a front to tell an astoundingly heart tugging story which is ripe with utter emotional intensity which leaves it a challenge not to tear up at.

The Impossible is based on an story that was drilled into the heads of everyone in the world during the time period it was occurring in during 2004, which was a time is spent fussing over my obsession with Sonic the Hedgehog. But I still remember the media treating the event like 9/11 all over again. But I never actually stopped to think about the troubled that occurred over there aside from crushed houses and people drowning.

The Impossible had me looking the event square in the eye and feeling the brutal shock of the events with immaculate intensity, and it went straight into the finest character drama that could be examined: split-up families. The Impossible creates a living family in a short period of time just to take it away from us in an even shorter one, and the majority of the film deals with us being forced to mourn for the sadness and embrace the family love on screen. The Impossible deals with emotions of all kinds in the strongest way, and it proves effective entertainment and the tearjerker it sets out to bee.

From a technical standpoint, The Impossible deals with its subject matter through use of an excellent musical score, incredible visual effects, astounding cinematography and explosive sound effects which provide the shock of the disaster theme in a fine quality manner.

But what's truly incredible is the setting, since it never exists outside of the brutal atmosphere of the tsunami aftermath shot in the excellent location of Alicante, Spain with an immaculate set that is beyond belief with how convincing it is. The realism of the story is enhanced by the realism of the setting, and so essentially The Impossible succeeds due to the strength of its realism.

By what keeps it compelling is the acting.

Naomi Watts packs an emotional punch as a mother whose inabilities and troubles come into perspective when faced with a crisis, and with a fine level of emotional intensity and physical excellence, Naomi Watts delivers the lines of her character with immense skill and an emotional punch, although considering the amount of time she's on screen it seems the legacy of her character is more important than she is. Nevertheless, Naomi Watts is great as a lead.

So is Ewan McGregor who maintains a great raw emotional mood throughout the story and shouts his voice across the screen in a manner unforgettable, one with an iconic accent which is emphasised, even if its minority excessive at times. Ewan McGregor is real in The Impossible, some of his most real he's been in a while, and so it's real entertaining too.

But the standout performance comes from the remarkable breakthrough within Tom Holland's performance who displays the abilities of a wunderkind. That's a but call, but the fact is that his charisma is one that separates him from being a child and immediately transitions him into an actor. He displays skills worthy of an Academy Award nomination with the character determination that actors usually require years of training to develop. His ability to manipulate his emotions for his character is astounding, brutal and utterly unexpected of a character in his position since his character's innocence is immediately swept away with everything else when the tsunami collides, and the his abilities are quite exhilarating as an actor. He gave an excellent performance in The Impossible and his career ahead is bound to be long and rich.

The only con in The Impossible is that at times things seem a little too coincidental or repetitive with its dynamics and it clearly goes straight for the heartstrings although it is successful, but for some the amount of sadness within the story may overload the viewers.

Also, the story only focuses on a single family who were lucky enough to survive but it doesn't mention the fact that a lot of families died and doesn't even show their corpses, so part of the realism is lost in the decision to emphasise a single family in the story.

Nevertheless, The Impossible is an entertaining and emotionally powerful disaster-drama with an excellent technical achievement and astounding performances.