The swirling waters provide such a scary backdrop, as the paradise of Thailand is reduced to reservoir in seconds, with the effects coming into action fantastically. As we see the devastation, we focus on Naomi Watts and her son, the two outstanding performers of the film, as they get battered and thrown about by the onslaught, becoming graphically damaged and injured, in a wincing manner. For a 12a, the graphic injuries sustained by Watts are incredible, and not in a good way. There were a couple of ‘ooh’ moments and it pushed the boundaries of what a 12a, nowadays, can do, and again, credit must go to the filmmakers who could’ve played it safe during these traumatic scenes but did give it a go to make it seem as realistic as seemingly possible.
Regarding whether it’s too soon, after 9/11, a similarly crushing event, we saw ‘World Trade Center’ and ‘United 93′ made and shown well within the decade. Sure there’s bound to be controversy, survivors of the tsunami may find it too much, I’m sure some of the audience I was in did at times. I believe these events should be documented within a suitable time period though, purely so the level of emotion and the direct events can be archived for years to come.
Ewan McGregor, I’d heard he should’ve been up for an Oscar, which I’d disagree with massively. For a start, he’s barely even in the film, with long stretches dedicated to Naomi Watts and son, Tom Holland, and two, I don’t rate his performance as toppling them or being the best of the year. Although perhaps that’s because I’m not McGregor’s biggest fan!