Emotional Tear Power Promised in "The Impossible".

Rating: 9/10 (4 February 2013)

Well written and acted film. Personally, I appreciated Ewan MacGregor's performance more so than Naomi Watts...who follows the same style of acting as in many of her previous films -- seeming to be a serene bystander, escalating to apprehension; then askance! Horror! Exploding into her legendary screaming skills or well, lack of control.
Certainly not worthy of an Oscar nod, particularly since this mode is her norm in most films to date. It just doesn't rise to the same caliber of acting of Meryl Streep or Sally Field's abilities to invent diverse characters and moods in every film. One doesn't know WHAT may happen with them in the role; one can safely guess with Watts.
However, the film which retells the true story of a family's horrendous ordeal experiencing and enduring the terror of the catastrophic tsunami in Thailand of 2004 has a lot of emotional punch to it. Helping the script along is the astounding cinematography depictions of activity UNDER the water and in it! Truly -- well, real! I also appreciate the lack of any hidden "agenda" messages about politics, etc -- but rather focus on the story of one family out of thousands terrifying nightmare.