A massive, massive mistake

Rating: 2/10 (29 April 2015)

THE IMPOSSIBLE is a terrible film supposedly dealing with the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Needless to say as a western film this almost entirely ignores the suffering of the Thai people, choosing instead to focus on the plight of a rich, middle class British (in real life, Spanish) family who find themselves caught up in the catastrophe. I don't know what's more shocking, the level of smug, casual racism on display in the premise and execution, or the fact that the guy who directed this also made THE ORPHANAGE.
In any case it's a crashing bore of a film. The only good thing about it is the opening tsunami, which is a masterclass in special effects work; you really believe it's happening so authenticity is second to none. Unfortunately as soon as the tsunami is over the characters begin to act in stupid ways, repeatedly splitting up when they should be together, and overacting for all their worth.
We're saddled with the overrated, ever-worthy Naomi Watts as the mother character, who whines and screams for much of the running time, while the smug Ewan McGregor is just, well, Ewan McGregor. The child actors are particularly irritating here, acting in the stupidest ways imaginable. I hate the way each person acts in respect of the subject matter, the so-called "worthiness" they think they're involved in. The second half of the film consists entirely of people shouting and crying at each other until the predictably sappy and sentimental conclusion, which incredibly offers a happy ending and closes a barely-opened door on the real suffering that went on.