“This scene is… everything. It is just so honest in its brutality and destruction. It’s equally hard to watch and to look away from at the same time.”
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry, and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.
The Impossible was a disaster drama film that was released in 2012, directed by J. A. Bayona, written by Sergio G. Sánchez, and starring Naomi Watts as Maria, Ewan McGregor as Henry, and Tom Holland as Lucas. It is ultimately about a family chillin’ on a Christmas vacation in Thailand who get completely wrecked when a massive tsunami smashes right through their resort, tearing them apart and leaving the badly injured mom and her oldest boy to hike through the mud and wreckage while the dad goes on a desperate, chaotic search through crowded hospitals and ruined villages to find out if they are even still alive.
I chose this film to be the next part of my 52-WEEK MOVIE CHALLENGE under the prompt for WEEK 10: A DRAMA STARRING TOM HOLLAND. For this challenge, it was between three different films for me, but I ultimately landed on his very first feature debut, actually. The Impossible is often touted as one of Tom Holland’s best dramatic performances in general, and it’s also where he got his start. A fun factoid for ya... early on in the film, before the madness begins, we do get to see Tom Holland do a backflip on a beach, because of course we do.
But how is the film? It’s decent. It’s based on a true story about an actual tsunami that struck Thailand in 2004 and killed nearly a quarter of a million people across 14 countries, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. This thing is absolutely devastating, so it’s no surprise when disaster strikes in this film as well, it is rough. In fact, they could only shoot the opening strike once because it would be too expensive to build the set again to destroy.
This scene is… everything. This is ultimately what got people into their seats to watch the movie, and it is just so honest in its brutality and destruction. It’s equally hard to watch and to look away from at the same time.
Now, I had to sit on the rest of the movie and think about what this thing was about, because it’s not your typical action disaster film. It might open up like that, but the rest of the film is much more about survival, hope, and love against all odds, making a big chunk of the film dramatic, emotional, and a tearjerker for a lot of people. Choosing this as the dramatic Tom Holland movie was definitely the right choice, as we really do get to see some of his best performances ever, especially as a 14-year-old. He is very young in this... which is funny because this is around the same age he’s supposed to be in Captain America: Civil War, which is hilarious.
But yeah, everyone here does do a really great job in their performances. I personally bought that everyone here, including Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland, were actually experiencing something, as the title suggests, impossible. Where they are torn apart, not knowing if they’ll ever see each other again, or if they’re even alive. It’s a terrifying thought and I don’t wish it on my worst enemy. The only actors that I didn’t believe, and thankfully there’s not much screen time with them, are the two youngest brothers. They seem like they’re just carrying on, having a grand old time while everyone is dying around them. Noooo problem.
I’ll tell you a couple of problems that I had with it though. First of all, I decided to watch a trailer to this before I saw it. Big mistake. I almost never watch trailers anymore because of what trailers like this do... and that is, this trailer doesn’t say much, but it shows everything. It spoils literally the entire story. Who lives, who dies, who reunites, who doesn’t. Everything. Whoever was in charge of putting together that trailer did not understand the assignment.
Other than that, I would just say don’t go into this movie expecting a big action disaster film, because I feel like some marketing might point you in that direction, but that’s not what the movie is. After the first 20 or 30 minutes or so, the film slows down almost to a complete halt for the rest of the runtime, as these people scramble to put their lives back together and figure out what it is they have to do now. This part of the film might have audiences struggling to see past repetition and pacing, and it definitely had me in the same spot here and there. I don’t think the pacing is perfect. I also think the film thinks it’s more emotionally resonating than it is, at least for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like to fight back tears a little bit while watching something like this, but for whatever reason, this didn’t get me that way at all. Whenever you watch an “emotional” film that you’re not vibing with, the experience isn’t going to be as great as others who are vibing with it.
I think it’s important to note, however, the look and sound of the film is spectacular. Practical effects, set designs, hair and makeup making these people look bruised, dirty, and dying is astounding. The sound editing as well is equally as strong, making it so if you close your eyes during these frightening moments, it’s still equally as tense and edge-of-your-seat, especially during the first half hour.
Unbiased/Technical Score: 39/50 (78%)
Biased/Entertainment Score: 35/50 (70%)
Total Overall Score: 74/100 (74% or 3.5/5 on Letterboxd)
Identical Twin score (same unbiased and biased scores): The Super Mario Bros. Movie.