The Impossible

The initial images of the Indian Ocean tsunami destroying everything in its path as it traveled with a ferocious and unstoppable intensity dominated the news on Boxing Day 2004. As the day progressed, footage emerged showing the rest of the world the wall of water tearing through buildings, flattening palm trees and sweeping thousands of unsuspecting people to their deaths. It was one of the most significant and shocking natural disasters of the twenty-first century: an environmental catastrophe that left a trail of utter devastation in its wake. The Impossible manages to powerfully recreate this very moment in history, with director Juan Antonio Bayona using the true story of the Spanish Belón family with great success. Stunning visual effects and powerhouse performances render this a truly astonishing film.

Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons (Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast) begin their winter holiday in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in the tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the centre of the earth and a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds towards them. In the chaos that follows the family is separated, and thus begins the unforgettable account of a family’s desperate search to be reunited in amongst the mayhem of such a devastating natural disaster.

The film is essentially a heart-breaking tale of human survival, driven most notably by an exceptional performance from Naomi Watts. Her raw interpretation of a mother mentally and physically broken – suffering horrendous and stomach-churning injuries from when the tsunami first hit and terrified beyond her imagination for the safety of the rest of her family – is well and truly worth the numerous nominations recently bestowed upon her. Watts is just phenomenal. However newcomer Tom Holland is just as good, if not better, driving the latter half of the film with an outstanding display of courage, maturity and a sense of bravery well beyond his years. He shows that even in the face of such a crippling disaster and appalling personal pain it is possible to turn anger and fear into compassion. Holland is capable of depicting a myriad of emotions with simply a look, and he manages to make the transformation of a surly preteen into a passionate and conscientious human being believable. It’s easy to almost forget about Ewan McGregor when faced with Watts and Holland, but he is convincing and a certain scene of his – in particular – towards the end of the film had me reaching for the tissues.

Watching the tsunami tear up the coast was one of the best (digitally created) scenes I've ever seen. This was digital effects at their absolute finest, with scene after scene a sight to behold. Seeing a shaking video shot from a helicopter posted on YouTube just isn’t the same as being right in the centre of the action, and Bayona enables the audience to gain a terrifying glimpse into what the moment was like, albeit from the safety of the cinema. Seeing Maria tossed around in the water like a rag doll being beaten and ripped by the debris was quite literally sickening, and as a result rooted the scene in reality. Bayona never once shied away from showing the audience exactly what happened and the full horror of the moment. This is definitely not a film for the faint-hearted.

The Impossible is a raw and shocking film that will leave you shaken and unquestionably reminded of the sheer force of nature and how powerless we are in comparison. It sits in an entirely different league the majority of the disaster films that have hit screens recently as it packs an unrivaled emotional punch through the performances from the cast. The suffering of the Bennett family was not diluted for a cinema audience but instead depicted with a disgusting and heart-breaking clarity, and knowing that the scenes unfolding on the screen actually happened gives The Impossible a chilling and harrowing edge. Aided by beautiful cinematography and incredible sound editing (the subtle hums and noises preceding the first wave is fantastic for building the anticipation) the overall picture is a stunning dramatization of one family’s journey of hope and survival against all odds. Images of unrelenting waves; lines of bodies and Watts bleeding, weeping and clinging to a palm tree will shake you to the core for days after you’ve left the cinema. The Impossible should not be missed: it’s an astonishing, devastating and shining example of cinematic gold.