Cinema
The compact ODEON on George Street
ODEON, George Street, Oxford
Monday
7/1/13
5.30 pm
Profile
6 screens
Film
The Impossible (12a)
Tickets
Adults from £9.95 (peak time)
Foyer
The first obstacle on entering the cinema is to hurdle/limbo the roped-off queue towards the box office which you have inevitably walked into. The cinema foyer is quite compact for a 6 screen facility, perhaps a victim of its location in central Oxford. Besides the box office there is a refreshments counter and separate ice-cream stand. Other than these standard ODEON features, the building is quite unremarkable.
Refreshments
The usual soft drinks, sweets and snacks are on offer, though I don’t recall the sale of any alcohol (which was certainly required following the film). A Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream stand will always raise my spirits and this one was manned by a very pleasant young employee. She was a little slow on the till and obviously new to the position (thus her pace was perfectly reasonable – I know how complicated these things are at first) which perhaps also explains her pleasant demeanour, not commensurate with many other employees.
Auditorium
Screen 4
129 seats
Allocated seats
An audience of about 40
Though seats were allocated, you are left to fend for yourself once entering the main auditorium corridor. This makes a mockery of ODEON’s premiere seating option which you could easily choose to sit in should you be a rebellious law-breaker type. As it happens I am not – though finding a couple sat in my allocated seat did tempt me. I sat nearby, not minding…that is until the gentlemen (who was old enough to know better) revealed himself to be a complete imbecile making banal comments throughout the film, stating the obvious and making light of some fairly serious subject matter. Idiot. But I digress….
Review
The Impossible is a good film. Very good in fact. But I did not enjoy it (nothing to do with the aforementioned idiot). I endured it.
I will be honest in saying that I went to see this film quite unprepared for what was to come – a darkly humorous irony perhaps. A night at the cinema had been suggested to me by my fiancée and I was of course powerless to resist. I am often the instigator of such nights out, and thus (the excellent) Berberian Sound Studio robbed her of 2 hours of her life. This film was certainly going to be no ‘Twilight’ so I happily agreed to go.
I was well aware of the subject matter of the film, remembering the tsunami of 2004 quite well. Still I remained unprepared. I had read little about the film except that the portrayal of the family’s story was perhaps on the slightly Hollywood/saccharine side. Ultimately I did not find this to be the case, but the opening 6 minutes detailing a privileged family’s festive holiday in Thailand did little to dispel my pre-impression. I had begun analysing the performances of the child actors who were bound to feature more heavily as the story developed and was not especially impressed. Perhaps this was not helped by some of the dialogue or exposition which I felt clumsily set up a few character facts and details that would no doubt become significant as the drama unfolded. I had almost written my review. As I say, this lasted for 6 minutes.
108 minutes later I sat quite stunned as the credits began to roll. I was physically (yes) and emotionally drained. Rather than head off for a pleasant dinner, I chose a small nearby pub for a stiff drink. Amidst (required) pregnant pauses, questions began to arise. Is it too soon to make films about the 2004 disaster? Is it right? Was it representative? How on earth did they do it? Other than the last of these questions (a large water tank in Spain was used along with 1/3 scale models and minimal CG effects), I am still unsure of the answers.
I have not felt so enormously pummelled by the emotion of a film since Schindler’s List twenty years ago. Perhaps I was more affected by this because it happened during my lifetime and (though indirectly) I know of several people affected by it. Naomi Watts is absolutely amazing in her role as Maria. Much of her on-screen time is spent with 14 year old Tom Holland playing her son. Another huge performance. The physical and emotional trauma the two suffer – all played out with a gritty realism I consider too strong for the 12a certificate – is relentless, upsetting and brutal. Before we have any time to take stock or recover from the horror the mother and daughter pair have suffered we are emotionally mangled by the anguish of Ewan McGregor playing the father, Henry. Though he has his fair share of cuts and bruises, it is his seemingly impossible quest to reunite his family that tears our hearts out.
Amazing performances from Naomi Watts & Tom Holland
Perhaps, like me, you are not totally familiar with the ending of this true story – a word emphasized in the opening titles – just in case you weren’t sure. I will not put any spoilers in here. I am amazed Naomi Watts name is not on the BAFTA ‘Best Actress’ list released today – or that Tom Holland was not recognised as a ‘rising star’. Perhaps the Academy will think differently tomorrow.
Would I recommend The Impossible. Yes I would. It is a very good film. The inevitable caveat is that you might want to emotionally prepare yourself for a very, very rough ride. Sobs from the audience were audible throughout the film. The images are graphic and the suffering almost unbearable. Those with a closer connection than me to the 2004 disaster may have even stronger views about the merits and even the existence of the film. I was unprepared. I saw it. I have no need to see it again. I feel very sorry for those that really had to suffer on that Boxing Day.
Code of Conduct: Transgressions
Talking (idiot!)
Lateness
COC Score 8/10
January 9, 2013
mywac
mywac 