Review of The Impossible (2012) by Hoops2448 — 13 Feb 2013

One of the most harrowing natural disasters in recent history forms the basis for The Impossible, the most recent film from director Juan Antonio Bayona, the acclaimed director of the Orphanage. The film follows a family vacationing in Thailand for Christmas back in 2004 when the Boxing Day tsunami hits.

the film tells the true story of a families struggle to survive in the most shocking of conditions following an unspeakable horror. Much like The Orphanage, The Impossible is a story more about reconnection than survival as this family of five struggle to find each other in a country that is completely alien to them, in a place where almost everyone is trying to find someone and has no time for others.

Films like this have the tendency to over sentimentalize the material and its true that the film loses its identity in favor of a big dose of cheddar as the film draws to its conclusion but it almost doesn't matter after the ordeal that is the first hour.

The Impossible is a grueling watch in its unbiased depiction of a people and a country ravaged by an unapologetic ocean of water. The cast is led by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, who both give give stunning performances as Henry and Maria, parents to children Lucas, Thomas and Simon.

Watts deserves her recent Oscar nomination for her all in performance as Maria, a woman with great courage and conviction tasked with the unbelievable task of keeping Lucas safe even though she doubts she will make it.

Mcgregor's worried father Henry is equally as affecting as Watts is because he is exactly the opposite of Maria, he doesn't know how to hide the fear he has for his family, especially Lucas and Maria.

Lucas is played with great skill by child actor Tom Hollander who shows the heart of the character even when the script forces him to film flop from a teenager to a child and back again. The characters are the best thing about the script by Sergio G Sanchez but Lucas seems to regress into a 5 year old boy half way through the film to service a side plot that is thoroughly irritating.

The script itself is absolutely woeful, in fact the only reason the film isn't a 9 or a 10 is because the script is so bad it ruins both the opening and the end with the opening being unnatural and stiff and the end being over the top and borderline offensive.

The actors struggle through lines about leaving the alarm on, something that in a better script would seem like a perfectly normal thing to talk about but this script is so dreadful it makes the lines seem like comedy, something you really don't expect from a film with graphic content and highly distressing themes, it just feels wrong.

Overall though the film is saved by some fantastic direction through the initial wave right up to the uplifting finale, as well as by some devastating performances, none more so than Ms Watts, an actress I had not rated until this film.

It's fearless and powerful and for that reason alone it will make most people bawl their eyes out in the most cathartic way possible. An emotional roller coaster of a film.