For many people December 26th is a day where they realise how much they’ve over eaten, over drank and over spent. For thousands of people, December 26th 2004 was a day where they realised how important their loved ones are, when a Tsunami hit Thailand in one of the worst natural disasters of all time. The Impossible tells the tale of one such family who get separated when the giant wave hits their beach front hotel.
A mother (Naomi Watts) and son (Tom Holland) get swept away in the ensuing tidal wave and Father (Ewan McGregor), Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) manage to survive and keep near the submerged hotel. What follows from there is a movie that pushes a constant message of hope as McGregor’s character decides that his family are still alive and goes on an epic search to find them. This is really an incredible true story.
From the get go, the ocean is presented as a daunting force of nature. Even with calm blue seas, Juan Antonio Bayona has shot this giving the ocean incredible and intimidating character. Not only that, it’s presented as almost a predator like character, waiting for it’s moment to pounce and extinguish life. Words can’t really describe the Ocean in the opening 20 minutes, you’ll have to see it yourself, but it’s a phenomenal piece of cinematography and character creation. It’s reminiscent of Jaws in places. And when the Tsunami hits, it’s frantic, enveloping and incredibly cluster phobic. It’s a horrific spectacle to watch as lives and buildings are swept away within seconds combined with a vast sense of scale in a frightfully realistic set piece.
Performance wise Naomi Watts is not only likeable but genuinely sucks you into her world which is quite literally falling apart. The same goes for Ewan McGregor, although to be fair, on the emotional level he is a bit more convincing. The real stars here though, are the kids, in particular Tom Holland who plays the eldest boy Lucas and with a number of awards under his belt already (Hollywood Film Festival and National Board of Review, USA) the future is bright for this fantastic young actor. The characters have a great chemistry between them, especially McGregor, who really does a fantastic piece on the phone at one point, only to be let down by the other “actor” at the end of the line. It’s small little things like this that make The Impossible falling ever so slightly short of a full 5 Stars.
At times The Impossible is gripping cinema that will have you on the edge of your seat, but on occasion it feels a little bit unbalanced as the story seems to revolve around the mother and son part a bit too unevenly. It’s not a case of having more Ewan McGregor on screen, but his character seems to have a bit more to do in the actual story, ie the search and on screen it’s a bit too condensed.
For those of you expecting to be bawling your eyes out, well bring some Kleenex. Not a whole box mind, just one or two will do as some of the more dramatic and emotional scenes, with one exception, left me feeling a bit cold. And I cry at everything!
Overall though, The Impossible is a gripping and realistic piece of cinema which not only provokes the “What would I do” thoughts, but highlights the fact that family is the most important thing in the world! Recommended!
A mother (Naomi Watts) and son (Tom Holland) get swept away in the ensuing tidal wave and Father (Ewan McGregor), Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) manage to survive and keep near the submerged hotel. What follows from there is a movie that pushes a constant message of hope as McGregor’s character decides that his family are still alive and goes on an epic search to find them. This is really an incredible true story.
From the get go, the ocean is presented as a daunting force of nature. Even with calm blue seas, Juan Antonio Bayona has shot this giving the ocean incredible and intimidating character. Not only that, it’s presented as almost a predator like character, waiting for it’s moment to pounce and extinguish life. Words can’t really describe the Ocean in the opening 20 minutes, you’ll have to see it yourself, but it’s a phenomenal piece of cinematography and character creation. It’s reminiscent of Jaws in places. And when the Tsunami hits, it’s frantic, enveloping and incredibly cluster phobic. It’s a horrific spectacle to watch as lives and buildings are swept away within seconds combined with a vast sense of scale in a frightfully realistic set piece.
At times The Impossible is gripping cinema that will have you on the edge of your seat, but on occasion it feels a little bit unbalanced as the story seems to revolve around the mother and son part a bit too unevenly. It’s not a case of having more Ewan McGregor on screen, but his character seems to have a bit more to do in the actual story, ie the search and on screen it’s a bit too condensed.
For those of you expecting to be bawling your eyes out, well bring some Kleenex. Not a whole box mind, just one or two will do as some of the more dramatic and emotional scenes, with one exception, left me feeling a bit cold. And I cry at everything!
Overall though, The Impossible is a gripping and realistic piece of cinema which not only provokes the “What would I do” thoughts, but highlights the fact that family is the most important thing in the world! Recommended!
