The Impossible
Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor
Directed By: Juan Antonio Bayona
Reviewed by Danielle Muir

[rating: 4/5]

By now most of us have forgotten the horrific tsunami that obliterated the coastline of South East Asia in 2004, resulting in mass casualties and crushing the lives of both locals and tourists holidaying there over Christmas.  The Impossible is for those who couldn’t realise just how traumatic that event truly was, who saw it on the news, maybe donated some money to local appeals and then, like the rest of the world, forgot the devastation over time.

Based on a true story, The Impossible follows a young British family – struck by the wave as they lounge by the pool in one of the most distressing scenes portrayed in cinema this year.  Maria (Watts) and eldest son Lucas track each other down in the sweeping rapids, separated from her husband Henry (McGregor) and the two younger siblings.  As they emerge horrifically injured, the family struggles through the ruin, hoping that the others survived.

The Impossible truly captures the horror of the tsunami hit, the aftermath and the physical and mental injuries that were the tragic result.  Spending the majority of this film in tears, it’s unrelenting in its intensity – never letting the audience forget that this is true.  It actually happened, and our understanding fed by news reports can never match the true horror of the event.  How they managed to film the wave with such realism, particularly as Maria and eldest son Lucas are swept through the land, is remarkable.  It’s worth mentioning that Tom Holland as Lucas puts in an incredible performance as the unlikely tower of strength that drags his broken mother through the catastrophe.

*slight spoilers in this paragraph*
The grittiness and unrelenting nature is slightly interrupted by some scenes that seem a little too Hollywood for what we’ve witnessed – whilst I know the particularly tear-jerking reunion between father and sons is an emotional moment, it seems a little melodramatic.  It cuts through the realism and pulls you out of what otherwise could have been one of the most powerful moments of the film.  However, it soon returns to the intimacy that The Impossible thrives upon.

The Impossible is horrific, as it should be.  It’s not entertaining, and you will leave the cinema broken by the fact that the natural disasters you see flashing across news programs are one thousand times more devastating than you could ever comprehend.  Powerful performances, extraordinary recreations and the lack of censoring the injuries and violence to please the masses make The Impossible truly an emotional and almost educational experience – forcing your eyes to the truth, challenging you to keep watching.