The Impossible (2012)

Title: The Impossible
Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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What family does not want to go to Thailand for Christmas vacation? For Maria Bennet (Naomi Watts), her husband Henry (Ewan McGregor), and her three boys, Lucas (Tom Holland), Tomas, and Simon, that is exactly what they do. Reading a book, chilling by the pool.....you can't go wrong.

But December 26th, 2004 is not just any ordinary day. It was the day of the tsunami.....and this family will never be the same.

The family is torn apart. Lucas and Maria find themselves together but taken goodness knows how many miles away from the hotel. They are torn up and bloodied beyond belief. But they are alive. That is reason enough to live--but making it......that is the tough part. Maria is bad shape and it is up to Lucas to keep her going.

Henry and the two other boys are also alive....but they have no idea that the rest of their family is alive. Henry will exhaust any means necessary, go to every hospital and triage station, in order to see if Maria and Lucas are accounted for.

For in the midst of devastation and sheer loss, can there be some happiness? Or is it an impossible thing to ask for?

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Wow! What a movie! I have to admit, it isn't the easiest movie to watch. I remember the tsunami. I didn't experience it firsthand, but I remember seeing the pictures of the devastation and loss. So when I heard about this true life tale, I was admittedly skeptical. Did I want to go down certain roads again?

I am SO glad that I did. The acting is superb. In fact, I have watched both Jennifer Lawrence's and Naomi Watt's Oscar nominated performances this week, and while I thought J.Law was awesome, I give Naomi the edge. She played the part of distressed mother fighting for her life--fighting the waves to get to her son--so convincingly. Her acting was heartrending when it needed to be; it was guttural when it needed to be. In fact, the same can be said of Ewan McGregor. I thought he was fantastic as well--it can't be easy to play the part of a man searching for his wife and son, all the while worrying about meeting up with his other two sons again. But the gem is Tom Holland, a young British actor that I am not familiar with. He plays the part with the maturity that it requires and on top of that, it is believable.

However, the movie borders on being intense--as it should. We see a few disturbing images and if you get queasy at the sight of blood, that will be a problem. Also, there has been much talk about "the topless scene." I am going to discredit that once and for all: for ten seconds, due to her shirt being torn to shreds, we see Maria's breasts, bleeding and injured. Her son also sees them and he turns his back, saying he can't stand seeing his mother like that. THAT is the extent of any "sexual content" that this film might have. The nudity is not gratuitous in the least, but I know that some might bypass the film for it being there period.

The beauty and hope of this film is that it is based on a true life story. What Naomi Watts's character goes through, that is what her real life counterpart went through. The same is true across the board. So knowing that makes this film even more inspiring to watch.

I highly recommend checking this out! Let me know if you do!