The Impossible

Following the account of a British family vacationing in Thailand during the devastating 2006 tsunami, The Impossible is a true story that’s simply captivating even when flirting with over-dramatization.

There is a perfect little moment of quiet right before the tsunami storms the beach which unfolds into a massive shot of the sea rocketing through palm trees and houses like sticks and cards that is both beautiful and devastating. From here, the practical effects take over and I was left wowed to what was unfolding before me. Not only did director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) manage to give the sequence immense emotional weight but he did it within a massively effective visual manner.

This simply does not look like something shot in a studio or developed with effects. This looks like a woman and her son caught in a tsunami battling for their lives. It looks and feels real without being over-the-top or showy and for that the measured hand of Bayona and the entirety of the effects department deserve some much recognition.

In the calm of the storm, the real terror begins and the characters start to shine. As Maria and son Lucas begin to make their way to rescue, their wounds slip into view, invoking a true sense of gut-wrenching horror. As Maria’s mangled mess of a calf emerges from the nasty brown water for the first time my mind immediately raced to infection and death and I admittedly got a little nauseous once again a testament to the level of reality and restraint taking place. The makeup effects used here are executed precisely as they should be; simple but captivating, nasty but reined in. It’s the realism that Bayona has honed in on and managed to simulate here that makes everything seem so important and at the same time thrilling.

Watts may have been nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Maria, but it is young newcomer Tom Holland who really anchors the film. For an inaugural performance, Holland rises above the shtick of child acting and really embodies this strong-willed character for his duration of time onscreen. There is not a moment where I felt that his acting slipped or the weighty dramatic turbulence of the film overcame him and for that I applaud him.

While this is hardly a cautionary tale, you can’t miss the powerful message sewed into the film, as it truly embodies the power of unity under duress. In chaos, there is hope and in pain, there is camaraderie and this story underlines the might of a collective effort working together, regardless of race or creed. As a member of the human race, it’s hard to not find this message stirring and the true acts onscreen inspiring. Ironically enough, this is a multinational film in all senses of the word. It’s made by a Spanish director, co-financed by American studios and centering on a British family who live in Japan all taking place in Thailand. It runs the gambit on class and race representation and all of these perspectives add an element of the universal “us” to the central message of human fraternity.

While some critiques of the film could point out the over-dramatizations taking place, I found myself willing to overlook it without holding it against it too much. The series of coincidences which lead to the conclusion may be a blatant draw for the dramatic but the unabashed emotional manipulation works for the most part.

Ultimately, whatever I say at this point about this film will seem reactionary but I nonetheless feel poised to defend it for what it is; a riveting narrative anchored by strong performances with a masterful flair of visual realism and a slightly unfortunate tendency to sway towards the over-dramatic.