By C. Ramsay
María Belón, her husband Enrique Álvarez, and their three children went on vacation to Khao Lak, Thailand in December 2004, facing separation and near-death experiences when a massive tsunami devastated multiple countries in the region. Based on these real-life events, The Impossible follows the survival efforts of Naomi Watts as Dr. Maria Bennett, Ewan McGregor as her husband Henry, and their three young sons—Lucas, Thomas, and Simon—played by Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast, respectively. Aside from some basic characterization, next to no time is spent with the family before the tsunami occurs, throwing the audience just as unexpectedly into the turmoil as the people in the film. A path to deeper characterization is achieved through exploring the misunderstandings and misjudgments that can arise in times of communal crisis, particularly when people are experiencing shock and do not have access to immediate medical treatment.
The tsunami itself is harrowing, having been shot mostly using practical rather than digital effects to create an extended scene that results in Maria and Lucas being separated from Henry, Thomas, and Simon, with both groups being completely unsure of whether the others have survived. The degree of destruction is exemplified through different means, with close-ups generally being used to emphasize the panic, discomfort, exhaustion, fear, and overall sentimentality of the people at the forefront of the disaster, and much wider shots being used to capture how jarring the scope of the chaos is. The casualty makeup is quite graphic and there are a few deeply unpleasant sequences in which the gruesomeness of certain injuries is underscored rather than shied away from. What’s most gut-wrenching about the aftermath of something so suddenly incomprehensible are the minute details: the sound of a crying baby drifting away, a toy half-buried in debris, or torn clothing nestled at the top of a tree. The visuals of the film are designed to resolutely impact the audience, on our end triggering survival and organizational questions that are relevant but may not be readily answerable by following the people we do, allowing us to better identify with the confusion and worry that these characters experience.
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