Review of The Impossible (2012) by James M — 30 May 2013

The Impossible tells what can only be described as the devastating true story of a family torn apart by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that took more than 200,000 lives. The family in real life were Spanish, and although this is a Spanish production, the family have been recast as English with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.

Watts' performance is raw and mesmerising, and the relationship she builds with her eldest son, played superbly by newcomer Tom Holland, through the tragedy is especially heart-wrenching. McGregor is equally powerful as the father who has the ability to care from his family unwittingly ripped from his grasp.

Perhaps it's because this tragedy is all too real for us and our south-east Asian neighbours, but when so many disaster films opt for the Hollywood treatment and borderline-ridiculous special effects, the ubiquitous reality of this deluge makes for a bleak and harrowing but ultimately incredibly moving and unforgettable film.

For all it's successes, however, it does tend to focus perhaps a little too intensely on the family's drama at the expense of the ongoing plight of the locals.