Movie Review: The Impossible

     The Impossible is about one family and there TRUE story of survival and even though it's revolves around a natural disaster, that's not what this movie is. It's not about a tsunami or how cool they could make it look on screen, it's about the complete terror these people felt, the despair it brought, the lives it ruined, and the people it affected. And even though it tells the story of one family, its about many more.

    The Impossible tells the real life story of the Bennett's, a British family (the Spanish Belón's in real life) on Christmas vacation in Thailand when a tsunami hits. The film starts with the family , Maria, Henry, Lucas, Thomas, and Simon, arriving in Thailand and relaxing at their tropical resort on Christmas Eve. Just 2 days later they decide to have a fun day at the pool. Shortly after arriving Henry tells Maria that he got a text and he may have lost his job. A few minutes later Henry and the kids are playing in the pool and Maria is reading in a lounge chair when she drops a page from her book and gets up to get it, the page sticks to a glass wall and Maria squats down to pick it up. When all of a sudden we see that the resort has lost power and a flock are birds are flying away over head in a frenzy, and then we hear it... a thundering sound. The scene is chilling as you can see the wave knocking over trees as it approaches and completely destroying almost everything in its path. You see Henry grab the two younger boys and brace for impact, Maria is pressed up against the glass and screaming for Lucas. Lucas jumps in the pool at the last second. The scene goes black....

      The first thing we see after the tsunami hits is Maria (Naomi Watts) and Lucas (Tom Holland) being swept away and debris violently crashing into them. In my opinion that scene was realistic and probably the most frightening to watch. The scene following was pretty disturbing to watch as well, it takes place after most of the water washes back into the ocean and Maria is walking in front of Lucas through shallow murky water when Lucas notices a piece of flesh and muscle ripped away from his mothers thigh. He is alarmed by the sight and stops and whispers "Mama". When she turns around her shirt is torn and he sees her exposed breast and blood just beneath it from where she was stabbed in the chest by a branch. He turns away from her and she fixes her shirt but he still can't force himself to turn back around and look at her. He tells her he can't see her like that, so she tells him to walk in front of her. The emotion in that one single moment gave me chills.




     What really made the movie for me was the acting. Every actor and actress in this movie, even the kids, knew exactly what their characters were feeling and they showed it really well with their facial expressions when they were scared or hurt, in their tears when they were crying, the look in their eyes, and in their overall demeanor. There was one scene in particular where Henry (Ewan McGregor) broke down crying on the phone as he was trying to tell his family back home that he couldn't find his wife and son. The emotion he showed at that moment was enough to break your heart. And the scene where Lucas reunites with his brothers makes you feel happy inside and you almost feel like crying with joy. The best acting however, came from Naomi Watts. She not only thought she lost her family, but she was badly injured as well and she really portrayed the part perfectly. This entire movie was full of different emotions and you experienced every one of them with them as if you were part of their family.

   


Pros: Acting at its Best/ Breathtaking Disaster Scene/ Human Emotion/ Realistic Setting

Cons: none
                                       8 out of 10

                                         
~Tiffany