The Impossible is a true account of a family caught with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural disasters of our time.

The Impossible to me is a very strange film. It has to be one of the most unpleasant experiences I've had in a movie theatre in a long time. Not because it was a bad film it's just that I didn't enjoy it, therefore I can't really recommend you watching it, but on the other hand I have to admit I think it's been handled perfectly, after all I was sceptical whether or not this was some sort of cash grab.

Whilst watching this film there were a lot of people walking out. Some would come back in, others would not and I can totally understand that. At times the film can feel extremely claustrophobic and pretty horrifying but not in a horror movie sense, more like how would we react if we were in a similar situation kind of way. Normally I don't like to say things like this but this film really isn't a 12A. If I was a parent I would not be talking my child to see this and why would you? There are some disgusting graphic injuries, dead bodies and a loss, making the certificate seem rather inappropriate, but then again I suppose it works from an educational standpoint.

As I stated previously I think the movie has been very well handled. It's not disrespectful in any sense and there's a very realistic, not to Hollywood approach to it and for that reason alone I find this film most amendable. Don't get me wrong at times I kind of got the feeling certain instances were slightly dramatized in order to play on the audiences emotions and that they were a little forced here and there, personally I didn't find the film upsetting but I can see why a lot of people were crying at it, as everyone of course has different backgrounds when it comes to the tsunami, but being relatively young when it happened I found this to be a very insightful and educational watch.

The performances in this film are all very strong and whilst most people site Naomi Watts and the eldest son portrayed by Tom Holland to be the two outstanding performances in this film I am going to have to disagree as I thought Ewan McGregor was great. I was more captivated by his story rather that Naomi Watts and that's another thing that bugged me about this film. As soon as the tsunami hit the film decides to focus on Naomi Watts and Tom Holland's characters for around forty five minutes which left me continuously asking the question of when will Ewan McGregor appear again with his two youngest sons, but nonetheless you can't fault the performances in this film as they are all very well done it's just that I enjoyed Ewan McGregor's story more, resulting in me being more impressed by his performance.

As I have already said I didn't enjoy watching The Impossible, but I have to say it is a good film if you can handle it and seeing as there was the odd sequence that was tough to watch if like me you can get through it then it's an interesting, rewarding view.

7/10

JBool