"I wonder who I take after"

Picture credits to Impawards.com

The Impossible; a movie directed by Juan Antonia Bayona is made based on the true story of a Spanish family's account of survival in the devastating tsunami that has hit the Southeast Asia in year 2004. It features Naomi Watts as Maria Bennett and Ewan McGregor as Henry Bennett along with a break out role for Tom Holland who portrays Lucas Bennett. Bear it mind that this has been a true story, so pull out your tissues and just be prepared to cry for the pain you feel on behalf of those who had lost their families.

And my review begins here. To start, I've always known that The Impossible was a heart wrenching movie but numerous people have told me that I should really watch it and that it's impossible (pun not intended) to miss. So I thought to myself, who cares if I had to cry watching it, right? And true to everything, I was crying my eyeballs out just watching the performance by Naomi Watts and her interaction with Tom Holland. In fact, I thought that Tom Holland had definitely shone better than Ewan McGregor in this movie! Not too bad for a newcomer, really. The graphics made in the movie was definitely scary enough to send chills down my spine as the water hit the land; so I cannot imagine the trauma that the survivors of that disaster has to live with every single day. Plus, the shots they have taken whereby the aftermath was shown was just so horrendous, it's amazing how Thailand has rebuilt themselves in just a matter of years. (I remember visiting Phuket just about 2 or 3 years back for the water festival or best known as Songkran and the tsunami hit area has been completely rebuilt with no signs of tsunami ever affecting those who reside there.)

 Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts) and Lucas Bennett (Tom Holland) clinging on to dear life in a scene shown in The Impossible.

Naomi Watts really gives an amazing performance in The Impossible as Maria Bennett and there was so much physical pain on her expressions that you could just about feel it on your own body too. Her expressions were raw and I really loved the cinematography whereby a close up of her blue eyes was just emphasized to show you how much she must have had to endure. Ewan McGregor does a very good Henry Bennett; the father of 3 sons and a loving husband but his role was simply mediocre compared to that of Lucas Bennett as played by the newcomer, Tom Holland. Like Watts, his expressions from the moment he has found his mother, to thinking he has lost her and finally being reunited with her was simply amazing! It made you believe that he had truly had so much to live with and that was not exactly an easy job. Other notable acts are by both Samuel Joslin who plays Thomas and Oaklee Pendergast as Simon respectively. Oh and Johan Sundberg as Daniel was pretty cute too! 

 Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Tom Holland, Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in a scene from The Impossible.

If you ask me whether or not you should be watching this, I'll tell you for sure that you should. It's hitting a 9/10 on my personal scale with a bit of careful looking because there's some things that I could see with several loops. Then again, no movie is perfect right? Read the real account of what had happened so many years back and yet is still fresh in the memories of this Spanish family that the movie is based on right here. It'll send extra chills to your spine. Extra brownie points goes to Juan Antonia Bayona for not changing any of the storyline throughout what has happened. I hate it when they do that. Now everybody please go get packs of tissues and watch The Impossible! EVERYONE!