A visceral, harrowing portrayal of one family's experience during the 2004 tsunami

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2012)

I'm not even sure it's fair to count what I'm about to say as a spoiler because it has become a widely known true story, but the warning is there anyway. From this point forward I will discuss all aspects of the film, including the ending.
I think it's important to point out that while the film's conceit--the focus on one Spanish-turned-British family who somehow managed to all survive--may bother some, and it's a worthy point, I also think that complaint is a little unfair. The creators of the film and all involved have been very clear that they became attached to this one woman's story, and that's the film's perspective. Maria Belon, the real-life mother of the family, was on the set much of the time ensuring that everything took place as it was. Who are we to deny her interpretation of that day? From her perspective, ethnicities took a back seat to humanity, and the people of Thailand took time away from their own grief and ailments to help her and her son. That is what she knows, and that is what this story is about.
For as much as I read about the tsunami sequence (and I read a lot about it), I still wasn't prepared for how visceral it was going to be. It's very difficult to watch--overwhelming, even. The 3D sound engineering is incredible...and loud. But you're in it, as much as I believe a viewer possibly could be. You panic for these characters. And when it's over, you feel as scattered as they do. It's a really remarkable, watershed moment in physical film making.
The journey that follows is paced and structured nicely. We follow Maria (Naomi Watts) and her eldest son, Lucas (Tom Holland) through their story until it comes to a distinct point, then we see where Henry (Ewan McGregor) and the other two boys are before their stories inevitably converge. Because I knew the ending of the story--because it was marketed as a story of their survival--this isn't the typical "will they/won't they" trope of disaster movies (and, I suppose, romantic comedies). It's more in the "how"--how will they find each other amidst the chaos, and when? And when they do is the only real critique I have of the film. The film has been building toward this moment and the actors have propelled us there emotionally--the sweeping, melodramatic score at the moment of their reunion is almost distracting, and I imagine it will become even more so upon repeated viewings when I'm less taken in by the story unfolding.
An ultimately minor quibble amongst an extraordinary movie, however. The three leads are sublime, brave, and earnest. Holland is a real find; the film sits squarely, unfairly on his shoulders and he carries it with real gravitas and poise that defy the fact this is his first on-camera film. McGregor's role is more limited, but no less powerful, particularly in one devastating scene when he must make the dreaded phone call home. Finally, Watts continues to prove that when it comes to physical and emotional anguish, no one can hit the same real nerve as she can. She gives way to the weight of the story (and water) as if she were a cartoon, bending her body, face, and voice to the will of the elements and the emotions. Her story on the page must read rather one dimensional, but on the screen it is deeply layered. Her connection with Belon is evident; she very much embodies this mother. Hopefully this will finally mark the turn in how people view her as an actress and she starts getting all the lofty praise she deserves.
The Impossible may have arrived too late and may be too intense for the award season powers that be, and it will always come with the asterisk of controversy with regard to is particular portrayal, but I feel like that complaint comes from those who decided the film was in the wrong before they saw it. As the film comes to its conclusion, it isn't a happy story about a family that found each other against impossible odds. It's a somber, honest conclusion about the pain of surviving and the fragility of life as much as it is about the marketed triumph of the human spirit. Spirit got this family far, but not as far as pure, inconsistent, and unfair luck. And I think this movie knows it.