Often these days, movies focus on the dark side of human nature. You don’t see too many that shed light on the good things that we are able to do for each other. "The Impossible" is a film that shows us how perseverance through a seemingly impossible situation can show us the glory behind a kind word or a selfless act.
"The Impossible" tells the story of a family. A family whose visit to the surrounding islands of Thailand gets cut short when a monstrous tsunami hits just off the coast of the island. After the initial impact of the wave, this family of five each awake to find themselves alone and cut off from one another. Separated by more than just hopelessness, individually they must find their courage to do whatever is in their power to reunite with each other.
This film earns its title and after the first 30 minutes, it isn’t hard to see why. These characters fight with every tooth and nail to get back to one another. If you’re one of those people who get emotional easily, then I will need to caution you when seeing this movie. "The Impossible" depicts a great deal of carnage, on an almost overwhelming scale. For a viewer such as myself, I can take in a lot of the blood and death on screen; but I get all mushy when it comes to heartwarming family moments. For me to get choked up in a film, it doesn’t take much; but I almost never cry. "The Impossible" had me in tears long before it was even over.
Another feat this film performed impeccably well was its measure of scale. I’m not sure what the cost of a production like this is in Thailand, but the production values at least seemed to be insanely high. They must have been in the 50 to 60 million dollar range. In either case, it shows. I knew that when the tidal wave hit, that it was CG, but it looked real. The creation of sets on this film were fantastic. The damage left in the wake of this wave was extraordinary. It felt as though the movie was actually filmed in the aftermath of a real tsunami.
As far as the acting in the film is concerned; the film stars Ewan Mcgregor and Naomi Watts as the central characters. Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast their three children (in the film). Holland portrays their eldest son Lucas. Holland knocks his role out of the park. He is phenomenal! Naomi Watts too. Watts is being nominated for an Academy Award for her role in this film. She’s going to have some stiff competition, but she definitely deserves the nomination. Every actor and actress in this film was at the top of their game; they didn’t have a choice really.
"The Impossible" is a movie about the human will to survive and our nature to do everything in our power to protect the people we love. This is a powerful film with shocking imagery and top notch performances by all those involved. It’s not a surprise to see this film up for an Oscar nomination. If only it could have garnered more.
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