“The Impossible” gets right to the heavy stuff, quick and unapologetic. A British family is vacationing in Thailand at a nice, cookie-cutter resort on the ocean called The Orchid Resort. It is Mother Maria (Naomi Watts), Father Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three young boys. A couple of days are shown to us, one of which is Christmas, and then we are to the pool as the family is seen lounging and relaxing. There is ungodly sound in the distance that is raw and unfiltered. Spine tingling. Palm trees crack and fall in the distance and the angry ocean comes and changes the world. What follows is a ten-minute sequence that follows that is terrifying and unbelievably authentic. You will feel as if you are living through this tragic event that really happened back in 2004, that you have faced a true-life monster. For this sequence alone, “The Impossible” is the best Horror Film of 2012. But then it reaches beyond the horror.
Our family is scattered and wounded. Maria and her oldest boy, Lucas (Tom Holland), are the main focus and we see the tsunami’s devastation through them. They both make it to a hospital and the chaos that follows there is tense and frustrating. The aftermath is shown with an unflinching eye. Many lives were lost and many orphans were created that day. I won’t get too deep into the ‘what and how’ but the events that unfold seem truly impossible. I’m assuming- hence the name. Bayona has re-teamed with screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez. The pair brought us the eerie ghost story “The Orphanage” back in 2007 so the expert handling of the darker elements in “The Impossible” makes sense. Unfortunately some of the human interaction gets sticky and melodramatic at times. My major peeve with the film is that it focuses too much on the vacationing Westerners while the actual Thai locals are but backdrop. I understand that this was probably a choice made to make the film relatable to the target audience but I find it a touch disrespectful. Even the real family was from Spain and was made British to accommodate this choice.
Watts gives a brave performance as she spends the majority of the film bashed and battered with tears welling in her eyes. Her Maria is a strong woman who struggles with abandoning her children even though she had no choice. McGregor is actually uncharacteristically weak in his role. His performance is too one-note to ring true. Tom Holland, who plays Lucas, is the backbone of the film. He exemplifies the film’s theme of perseverance and gives a powerful turn. With Suraj Sharma in “Life of Pi” and Quvenzhane Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” 2012 has been a year of amazing child performances. 
Director Juan Antonio Bayona’s staging of the tsunami is near miraculous. Actual water was used and the footage is the result of six special effects companies. Bayona also shot in the original locations including The Orchid Resort where the tradgedy occurred. The crew used 35,000 gallons of water each day and filmed Holland and Watts slam through the wreckage for days on end. In other words, to reenact a tsunami they essentially cobbled a man-made tsunami here. The result is numbing. Sound design is also used to full effect. A pure force of nature is on display and while some of the actual storytelling is clunky after the water settles, spectacle alone is plenty reason to see “The Impossible”.