The Impossible

The Impossible - Dir. Juan Antonio Bayona (2012)

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami stands as one of the worst natural disaster in recorded history with a death toll of nearly 230,000. There are countless tales of loss and survival and The Impossible is just one of those stories.

Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry Bennett are flying to Thailand for a luxurious Christmas vacation with their three sons – Lucas (Tom Holland), Tomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast). Over the course of their long plane ride, we learn a little bit about the Bennett family. Maria gave up a successful career as a doctor to become a mother while Tomas has entered his tempestuous teenage phase. These problems amount to absolutely nothing when a massive tidal wave crushes their resort. Lucas is swept away with his mother who has been badly injured. Discovered by locals, they are taken to a nearby triage. Meanwhile, back at the resort, Henry makes the heartbreaking decision to leave Tomas and Simon in the care of strangers in order to search for Maria and Lucas.

There isn’t a subtle bone within the body of The Impossible. This is a disaster movie that hits its audience with almost as much force as the tsunami it depicts. Drama unfolds and tears are wrung as the bombastic score swells to manipulate emotion. The film is riddled with Oscar bait moments such as a scene where Henry makes a sorrowful call to his father while other tourists (with eyes welling up) bare witness. Luckily, they’ve cast actors of the caliber of Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, who walk the delicate balance between convincing performances and ham-fisted melodrama. The filmmakers also hired three fine young actors to play their offspring with Tom Holland being of particular note. His scenes with Naomi Watts are the most powerful as the journey of a spoiled boy into adulthood. When Maria hears the cries of a lost child in the distance, Lucas pleads with mom to press on as she needs medical attention. But, Maria cannot and reasons with Lucas that if it were his brothers calling for help wouldn’t he want someone to intervene? Later, when they arrive at the hospital, Lucas searches for any sign of his dad and winds up assisting other patients in finding their missing relatives.

The Impossible garnered some controversy for white-washing the real-life story behind the film. The lead characters were inspired by Spanish couple Enrique and Maria Belón, the latter of whom lost her leg in the disaster. Also, the screenplay was written by Sergio G. Sanchez and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, the creative team behind the atmospheric horror flick The Orphanage. For some reason, Bayona is listed in the credits and advertising material as J.A. Bayona. Though the Belóns gave the movie their blessing, it is obvious Summit Entertainment felt a white cast with minorities in the background would appeal to a wider audience than a Spanish production. Many critics have argued that focusing solely on the story of an affluent family is a disservice to the hundreds of thousands who didn't have a happy ending. The Bennetts' experience during the tsunami is no less valid than any others. Yet, The Impossible fails to turn their story into a microcosm of the entire event. There are moments where the Thai people come off as little more than the help dutifully serving the affluent vacationers in their midst.

Bayona does a splendid job as director as he creates a thick amount of tension during the climax. The tsunami sequence is impeccably crafted and outdoes Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. Bayona taps into his horror background from the eerie silence just before the wave hits to the harrowing sight of Maria being helplessly swept away.

While Naomi Watts received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actress, it's a case of a great performance in a middling picture. Not everyone will buy into this overwrought tearjerker.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

The Wolfman

The Wolfman - Dir. Joe Johnston (2010)


”Terrible things, Lawrence. You’ve done terrible things…”

Werewolves haven’t received as much cinematic attention as their bloodsucking brethren. Right off the top of my head, I can name several great vampire films. Let the Right One In, The Hunger, The Lost Boys, Nosferatu, Innocent Blood, Near Dark, etc. I can come up with maybe two great werewolf movies, the 1941 version of Wolfman with Lon Cheney, Jr. and John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London. Joe Johnston’s remake of the 1941 film will not be counted as one of them.

Set in the 1800’s, Benicio Del Toro is Lawrence Talbot, a traveling stage actor, who returns home upon the murder of his brother after years of absence. Talbot is still haunted by the suicide of his mother and is less than enthusiastic about revisiting Stately Talbot Manor. But, he is welcomed by his eccentric father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins) and his brother’s beautiful fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt). Investigating his brother’s demise, Lawrence follows the trail to a gypsy encampment just as it is being attacked by an angry and superstitious mob, complete with torches and pitchforks. And just to turn it into an all-out melee, a werewolf tears through anyone in his path, including Lawrence.

Bitten by the creature, Lawrence finds himself transformed into a beast on each night of the full moon. He desperately attempts to send Gwen away for her own safety while deep-rooted secrets about his family and his father come to light. Toss in a dash of Hugo Weaving as an inspector for Scotland Yard’s special muttonchops division.

The Wolfman has been mired with production problems beginning in 2008 with the departure of original director Mark Romanek. Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jumanji) stepped in and filming was completed that spring. The movie was initially set for release November 2008, but that date was continually pushed back before finally hitting theaters this February. The opening months of the year are generally a dumping ground for the studios. The score by Danny Elfman was replaced by another composer’s work before filmmakers decided to go back to Elfman’s. The indecision about the release date and music are indicative of the troubled production. No one seemed to know which direction to take the movie.

To Johnston’s credit, he has crafted a moody and atmospheric picture aided by the fantastic make-up by Rick Baker, the artist who also worked on American Werewolf in London. You marvel at the costumes and the sets until someone gets disemboweled. When the wolf strikes, limbs are ripped off and intestines are strewn about repeatedly. In Wolfman’s best sequence, Del Toro is strapped to a gurney in a sanitarium as his doctor obliviously lectures his colleagues on Talbot’s delusions. Of course, Talbot morphs into the wolfman freaking out the entire room. It’s not long before someone gets impaled and we watch a CGI wolfman tear-assing through London.

The movie switches back and forth from an old-fashioned slower pace to a modern, action-oriented approach. In the end, all of Baker’s wonderful practical effects are for naught as the climax involves two badly rendered CGI furballs ripping into each other. Come for The Wolfman, stay for Van Helsing?

On the surface, The Wolfman appears to be a picture deserving of being a tentpole release. It has an A-list cast. The acting is more than adequate with Hopkins bringing those same hammy sensibilities left over from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Instead, it’s a forgettable popcorn movie, passable for a rent. Well, at least it’s better than Teen Wolf.

Rating: **