THE IMPOSSIBLE

The Impossible (2012)
Grade: B

Starring: Naomi Watts, Tom Holland, Ewan McGregor, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast

Premise: A well-to-do British family on vacation in Thailand is separated and thrown into chaos and grief when a tsunami destroys the countryside the day after Christmas.

Rated PG-13 for disturbing disaster sequences and related elements (terror, bloody wounds and gore, very intense emotional content) and brief nudity

            On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale rocked the Indian Ocean floor and, according to reports, generated vibrations that could be felt across the entire planet. Within hours, 30 foot waves created by the tremors plowed across the beaches and shoreline of over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia, leaving a reported 230,000 dead and leveling miles of buildings, power lines, trees and roads. Included in the dead and missing were more than 9,000 tourists, who were enjoying the balmy climate for the winter, having celebrated Christmas just the day before.

            Tiny amongst the carnage and devastation was such a family, which was incredibly wealthy by the locals’ standards—a Spanish doctor, Maria Belon, her husband, Enrique, and their three sons, Lucas, Tomas and Simon. On vacation from their home in Japan, they were ill-prepared for the horror that awaited them. The family, who have become full-time activists in memory of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami and the countless numbers who lost their lives and their innocence, worked with Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona to have their story told as a memorial to those who suffered. The result is an imperfect but emotionally-scorching film that is (ahem) impossible to forget once you’ve seen it.

Plot

Looking forward to celebrating Christmas in exotic beach-side luxury in Thailand, the Bennet family survives some minor turbulence in their inbound flight before checking into a lush resort right on the water. Maria (Naomi Watts) is a doctor who put off her practice in order to spend time with her sons, prickly young teen Lucas (Tom Hollander), bright-eyed seven-year-old Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and five-year-old Simon (Oaklee Pendergast). Unfortunately, her colorful Christmas is dampened slightly by the assertion of her husband Henry (Ewan McGregor) that she may have to go back to work, because there’s a chance he may be on the verge of losing his high-paying corporate job in Japan. However, even that potentially life-altering news becomes little more than a footnote on Boxing Day, when the wind suddenly picks up, the ground shakes, and a terrifying wall of water plows over the hotel and swipes away the family and everyone else around them.

            Finding consciousness amidst a swirling torrent of water strong enough to level buildings, uproot trees and sweep away cars and power lines, Maria is gravely injured but able to locate Lucas, who is, miraculously, almost unhurt. After taking shelter in a tree, they’re located by a rescue crew and taken to a hospital, where Maria’s state quickly deteriorates. Trying to find something to do other than sit by his weak and shivering mom’s bedside, Lucas tries to help some other patients in the overcrowded hospital locate their missing relatives. Meanwhile, Henry, who was with the two young boys when the wave hit, agonizes over whether to send his sons to a shelter in the mountains where conditions will be more sanitary and orderly, or to keep them with him, while he tries desperately to locate his wife and oldest son amongst throngs of sick, injured, terrified and homeless people.

What Works?

I’ve heard some complaints about The Impossible (actually Lo Impossible due to its Spanish origination) centered around the idea that it’s calculated and cheap to make a film about five rich white people who survive a terrible disaster while hundreds of thousands of other poorer, local people did not. And I guess I understand that, but you could make that complaint about almost any war movie ever made (why did the hero live when all these other people died—if indeed the movie in question is one in which the hero lives). But while The Impossible does have the feel of a film that comes to a very tidy resolution, I can tell you now it’s much more gratifying and uplifting to learn the story of a family that survived as opposed to many people who did not. Based on the Belon family’s accounts, the film certainly jumps through hoops to make sure the horror and devastation of the incident is brought home.

Speaking of which, The Impossible is the most viscerally-emotional film I’ve seen in a long time. Holding back the tears will be nearly impossible for most viewers, whether they’re tears of terror, grief, or joy. Oscar Faura’s cinematography is tremendous, capturing the pitched terror of being carried away by a wall of water in an indecipherable cacophony of noise and colors, then seeing the pain and suffering and widespread devastation left by the disaster. Some of the immediate post-tsunami sequences are incredibly difficult to watch. It certainly is nightmarish. Aiding hugely in the film’s credibility and emotional impact are the actors, who give brave performances in the face of such a demanding story. Naomi Watts has gotten the film’s lone Oscar nomination (for Best Actress—by now, after 21 Grams, King Kong and this, it’s clear that Watts can turn on the hysterics like few others), but once she’s immobilized by pain and sickness, it’s revealed that young Tom Holland is the film’s real star. Horribly attuned to the pain and grief around him even while trying to tune it out and remain strong, Holland gives a fierce performance that has been recognized with a great deal of praise and awards. As the husband/father, Ewan McGregor’s performance isn’t nearly as showy, but the normally cool-and-collected actor goes straight for the heart and the throat with one searing moment of emotional distress. The actors playing the two younger sons are serviceable, and Sonke Mohring has a few wonderful moments as a fellow tourist stunned by pain and loss.

What Doesn’t Work?

In an age of huge, epic films that try hard to utterly unforgettable, The Impossible might seem a little short—like it resolves a little too neatly. I got that feel (“wow, already?”) once I saw the resolution being achieved, but it’s really a small complaint. After all, how many times have I complained on this blog of movies being too long? This movie is about the disaster and the immediate aftermath—also why there’s fairly little character-building time before the tsunami. The point still gets across. You still want the family to be reunited.

Content:

Conveying as it does a terrible and unforeseen disaster that really did affect millions of people, The Impossible can be very, very unsettling. While the viewer is spared most looks at dead bodies, the camera glimpses gory details like gaping wounds and people throwing up blood and debris in the hospital. There’s no cursing I can remember, and, while there’s a bit of nudity (though it’s in an unglamorous, nonsexual context), the main thing that makes The Impossible questions for kids or even many adults is the nightmarish content that it strives to make real.

Bottom Line (I Promise): At times terrifying, crushingly sad and exhilarating, The Impossible may not be the Next Great Epic but it’s a vivid and moving film about the disaster that also makes you celebrate the survival and recovery of the Belons.

The Impossible (2012)

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

Written by Sergio G. Sanchez; based on the story by Maria Belon

Rated PG-13

Length: 114 minutes