Tags
audience, cry, escape, Ewan McGregor, filmed, hope, learn, love, movie, Naomi Watts, Oaklee Pendergast, opinion, pain, parents, Samuel Joslin, theater, Tom Holland, tsuanmi
The Impossible – WOW!!! I didn’t get a chance to see this when it first came out and when it hit our discount theater I debated seeing it there or waiting for it go to Redbox or Netflix. I’m glad I decided to see it in the theater for a couple of reasons…
1. I think some of the drama would’ve been lost on a smaller screen with a smaller sound system.
2. The audience reactions added so much!
There is so much to say about this movie I’m sure I’ll leave something out, but here goes. First, well done to all the actors that made up the Bennett family! Naomi Watts expresses her pain in such a way that I hurt too. Ewan McGregor never gives up looking and hoping – everyone should be loved like that. Samuel Joslin balances being a little boy (7 ½) with being a big brother perfectly. Oaklee Pendergast is trusting, strong, and scared – all in just the right measure. Tom Holland was amazing! His vulnerability, his loyalty, his fear, his strength, his courage, and his compassion were awe-inspiring (especially given his age).
If you’ve read many of my other posts you know I don’t say much about how the movie was filmed, but this warrants a change. It was both breath-taking and heart-breaking. The aerial shots of before and after are moving and definitely add to the sense of destruction. The movie also switches from the roar of the tsunami to complete silence and back again – adding to the confusion and experience of the audience. The sights (wounds, blood, filth) and sounds (screams of pain, calls for help, cries for lost loved ones) of this movie had the audience I was in (and I’m guessing many more) wincing, crying, gasping, and hoping along with the characters.
Not many movies pull me this far into the story; most of the time I can simply watch (observe) the movie and maybe feel a little something. This time I felt so many things, along with each member of the family. This movie is based on a true story and if this family (especially the children) is even half as strong and determined as they are portrayed then (I believe) they are amazing people!