The Impossible

J.A. Bayona, 2012

IMDB

4/5

There are disaster movies that focus on the disaster, and then there are disaster movies that aren't really disaster movies because they focus on the characters that are victim to the disaster. The Impossible is definitely the latter of the two. A disaster film with a heart. Focusing on an English family of five, they are on Christmas holiday in Thailand in 2004 when the historic tsunami hit their beachside resort. The images of this natural disaster have been in my memory for the past 13 years since it happened. Seeing the beautiful country decimated by Mother Nature so quickly. I remember seeing the amateur footage on Youtube back when the disaster occurred.

Bayona's immediate accomplishment with this film is getting you invested in the characters so quickly. Without this they would be nameless faces dealing with the destruction. But instead, you are familiar with them very early on. You see their vulnerabilities as they sit on an airplane on their way to their vacation spot. Maria (Naomi Watts) has anxiety from the turbulence. Henry (Ewan McGregor) has some OCD tendencies with trying to remember if he had set an alarm at home before they left. These elements cleverly humanize them and help to generate empathy early.

When the tsunami hits, it doesn't feel like a bastardized CGI construct. It feels like an authentic force. The film doesn't heavily lean on the CGI though. It feels completely necessary, like its just enough. How it should be. A supplemental tool in the absence of the real thing. There is an obvious sense of panic. You are left with no real answers as to which members of the family have survived and which members have perished. The film then evolves into more of a gripping survival film as a wounded and incomplete family desperately tries to become complete again.

The sense of desperation and heartbreak resonates throughout the film and I can't remember the last time that a 2 hour running time passed by so quickly. Watts and McGregor deliver remarkable performances as they usually do. Surprising to see that Watts was the only one that received attention from the Academy with a Best Actress nomination (she lost to Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook). McGregor really deserved a nomination too. It's actually quite surprising to realize that McGregor has yet to receive a single Oscar nomination in his entire career when you remember his performances in films like Trainspotting and Big Fish. The Impossible is a really gripping film, rich in detail. History should be kind to this film. A really accurate look at one of the most tragic and destructive natural disasters in our modern era.

The Beach

(REWATCHED)

Danny Boyle, 2000

Can I Stream It?

2/5

Boyle is a great film-maker with a lot of memorable titles under his belt. His early career consist of some dramatic gems in Shallow Grave and Trainspotting (possibly his best work). His later career would evolve into a more ambitious stylistic approach with films like Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and 28 Days Later. But before he made those also great films, he performed experiments and tested the waters with his film-making like he did with The Beach. Adapted from the novel written by Alex Garland, the film consists of main character Richard (DiCaprio) venturing to Thailand looking for unique adventure. While staying at a hostel one night, he begins talking to crazed-neighbor Daffy (played by Doyle favorite Robert Carlyle) who tells him about a paradise-like island that is hidden from the sea. Richard discounts the island as a myth until he finds a map on his door the next day, and Daffy gone. Richard decides to travel to the island to see if the legend is true. He soon finds that not only is the legend very much true, but there is much more to this island than anyone would expect.

Boyle's experiments with the film for the most part fail because he wastes valuable time on them. Time that would be better spent developing the already confusing characters was spent on visual trickery and recklessly abstract narrative. The film also feels experimental for a young Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio had previously starred in films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Basketball Diaries that showed that he certainly had talent but it needed some refinement and evolution. When we are introduced to DiCaprio, its through an odd narrative where Richard comes off as a bit abrasive. He lives up to that same personality soon after when he meets the young girl staying next to him and he is mildly aggressive with her boyfriend. You would think a young traveler would have a more benign, welcoming demeanor. This aggression is elevated soon after when they are aruging on top of the rock ledge, where things seemed a bit over-dramatized and over-aggressive. His behavior continues to be self-serving, and you never really feel obligated to get behind him as a protagonist. The swerving that sloppily navigates the film through the first two thirds of the film eventually leads to the Richard isolation jungle scenes in the third where it just crashes completely. Boyle's Beach experiment fails because it doesn't focus enough on pure performances and story and instead relies on overindulgence and reckless reverie.

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Winding Refn, 2013


3/5

Set in Bangkok, Refn's followup to Drive once again features Ryan Gosling in the lead. Gosling plays Julian, gangster & fight club owner. Julian gets news that his brother Billy has been killed. Julian's mother arrives in Thailand eager for revenge, while the renegade cop who was responsible for the death is on their heels the entire time.

First off, it's a wonderfully shot film. In fact, there's not one bad shot in the entire picture. The glowing of red through the beginning, the scenes with the very neon-like aesthetic. It paints Bangkok in a way that's very much like the way Gaspar Noe painted Tokyo in Enter the Void. The stunning look of the Karaoke bars are similar to the scenes in Hanna where the villain is whistling the catchy "The Devil is in the Details. There's a disconcerting element to the streetscape, but it's very easy on the eyes.

The film combines the sudden disturbing elements one would come to expect from Refn along with some of the abstract characteristics of a David Lynch picture.  Refn always has a clever use of sound. The score to this film is much more immersed than the electro-pop soundtrack in Drive. There's certainly no Kavinsky to be heard here. Refn certainly finds new ways to end human lives. Refn works his craft as the body count rises.

Gosling's character Julian is quiet, reserved (surprised?). The lack of dialogue is very much similar to his role in Drive, but there's certainly some distinction here. Any heart that his character had in Drive is absent in this piece. Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), the blade-wielding retired cop, could go down as one of the more memorable villains in cinema. His renegade-like attitude is very similar to fellow cop Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Leon: The Professional. Both are cold and lack hesitation to slaughter at will. Both lack the moral structure one would expect from a man of the law. When you first see Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), Julian's mother, it further constructs his past. And it ain't pretty. Her vitriolic tongue spits out whatever venom is on the surface and there's no hesitation. It's quite clear that the only affection she had was really spent on his brother Billy.

It's a controversial piece. Rumors of booing as Cannes started circulating, along with rumors of people vomiting during some of the scenes. Refn is a true auteur, unaffected by public opinion. He appeared to make a film here for himself, and you can come along for the ride but he doesn't care much if you enjoy it. There's something to this film. At times hard to watch, but for the right reasons. Some people may be hungry for more story, and it's a fair argument. While some of the moments are hard to watch, there's still a very adhesive quality to the film.