Hope amidst tragedy

Only the tsunami transcends the acting in the visually stunning The Impossible

Making films about horrific events will always be tricky. How soon is too soon? If you’re dealing with actual victims, how personal is too personal? Conversely, if you’re approaching the event from a historical but fictional standpoint, how much leeway should a filmmaker be granted?

The makers of The Impossible confront all of this and more with their film. It depicts one family’s struggle after being caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that hit Thailand, among other countries. Based on a Spanish family, they have been switched to British for the purposes of the movie, led by Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor).

The film is one big survival tale, as Maria and her son Lucas (Tom Holland) are separated from Henry and their two other sons when the initial tsunami wave hits. As you might expect from such a devastating force, once the horror starts, it rarely ebbs. The wave of water isn’t even the half of it; it’s the resulting destruction, the lack of resources and the desperate search for loved ones that makes things close to unbearable.

If ever a film deserved Oscar nods for visual effects, art direction and cinematography, this is it.

There are many elements that make The Impossible a great film, but first and foremost is the depiction of the tsunami and the aftermath itself. How director J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage) and his crew so convincingly portrayed everything in the film is a question of movie magic to which I’m not sure I ever want to know the answer.

I just know that every component felt terribly real, from the overwhelming intensity of the water to the mind-boggling vastness of the ruin to the grimy conditions of the hospitals and other shelters. If ever a film deserved Oscar nominations for visual effects, art direction and cinematography, this is it.

But of equal importance is the acting. A great and moving story like this is nothing without capable actors to guide it through, and all of the principals are more than up to the task. Watts deserves all the accolades that come her way, as her character’s journey is as harrowing as any in recent memory. Watts doesn’t strike one false note throughout, a testament not only to her acting but her endurance.

Holland is equally as good, an impressive feat for a novice film actor. He literally and figuratively has to carry Watts for much of the film, creating an emotional bond that’s unbreakable. McGregor isn’t given quite as many dramatic scenes as Watts and Holland, but the moments he does get are some of the most raw and truthful ones in the film.

The only missteps the film makes are minor, including a few continuity errors and a tendency to amplify drama when playing things straightforward would have been just as effective. But Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez keep those incidents to a minimum, allowing the sheer emotion of the story to shine.

There are, of course, two other questions that could color your view of the film. One, why did two Spanish filmmakers change the nationality of the family from Spanish to English? Two, why tell the story of a family on vacation when so many local people were affected much more?

The answers to those lie in the vagaries of the film community, a topic which could be discussed from here until next Christmas.

All most of us can confront is the story with which we are presented, and in that respect, The Impossible is close to masterful. It is an emotional wringer of a film that’s difficult to bear, but it’s well worth the effort.

Movie Review

The life of an actor is far from rosy in dramedy Misty Green

Rosalind Eleazar in Misty Green

Photo courtesy of A24

Rosalind Eleazar in Misty Green.

For every well-known/successful actor in Hollywood, there are thousands of others whose lives are more tenuous as they struggle to find work. The new film Misty Green is about one such actor who, after a period in the limelight, now finds herself on the outskirts of the industry, just hoping to find her way back in.

Misty (Rosalind Eleazar) won an Emmy for a 2000s-era TV show that still gets her recognition, but not much work. Still living in the apartment of a recently-deceased man with whom she was having an affair, Misty spends her days sleeping in and her nights getting blitzed on alcohol and drugs. She seems to be heading nowhere fast until a few things coincide to break up her routine.

The man’s wife (Amy Landecker) shows up and tells her she has seven days to vacate the apartment; Misty’s brother, Jay (Daniel Kaluuya) — who is bipolar — arrives after being kicked out of his facility for non-payment; and Jordan (Chris Rock), a former colleague with whom she had a falling-out, reappears in her life, offering a possible chance to rehabilitate her image.

Written and directed by Rock (his first feature since 2014’s Top Five), the film is a funny and excruciating look at how the entertainment industry might actually work. Misty is her own worst enemy thanks to late nights fraternizing with unsavory characters like Zach (Adam Driver), who deals in drugs and women in equal measure, but her frustration proves warranted when her agent, Randy (Topher Grace), and casting directors like Rhonda (Tracie Thoms) hardly give her the time of day.

Misty tries her best to stay positive, but when jobs like singing in a bar are the best she can do, the mountain seems insurmountable. Rock does an effective job of demonstrating the elements that are within and without Misty’s control that affect her ability to regain her position in the industry. The chip on her shoulder is almost as big as the bias some have against her, and other negative circumstances don’t help matters much.

There are many small touches that Rock and his crew put in the film to give it an air of authenticity. Filming in Los Angeles (a rarity these days), Rock uses both subtle and overt shots of homeless people in the city, suggesting that the line between the haves and have-nots is a fine one, especially with Misty on the verge of not having a place to live. He also has cameos from a few of his funny friends, including a bit of meta-casting of Anthony Anderson (who has faded a bit after starring in Black-ish) in a bit part as a cop.

Eleazar, a British actor best known for appearing on the Apple TV show Slow Horses, is a magnetic presence as Misty. The character herself is somewhat cringey in her decision-making, and Eleazar sells every bit of her righteous indignation and self-defeating actions. The supporting cast is great across the board, including Rock, Driver, Kaluuya, Thoms, Grace, Anna Kendrick, and Rich Sommer.

Misty Green makes you rage against the Hollywood machine, laugh at the various ways different people deal with its maddening quirks, and hide behind your fingers as Misty chooses options that don’t help, either voluntarily or because her back is against the wall. It’s a powerhouse of acting that gives a unique angle on the inner workings of Hollywood, one that ironically might be competing for awards at year’s end.

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Misty Green is now playing in theaters.

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