BEFORE: A last-minute addition to the Ewan McGregor chain, which is going to force another movie into next year. Those are the breaks of having a set plan, it's got to remain flexible in case of this sort of thing. Tonight I've got my pina coladas ready, I'm all set to sit and relax and watch a movie about people taking a relaxing vacation. Wait a minute...
AFTER: It might be hard to fathom the concept of over 100,000 people concentrated in a very small area, wandering around in a daze, looking for lost friends, not knowing where to turn next - some are disfigured, some are covered in blood, and they have to survive under the most horrible conditions, with inadequate food and clean water, limited hospital facilities, and unsanitary bathrooms. No one has any money, it's a struggle to survive, and most people haven't had a shower or a decent night's rest in several days.
But, enough about the San Diego Comic-Con. (See, some people there dress like zombies, so they're covered in fake blood. Oh, forget it. If I have to explain the joke, it's not worth it.) Now, I could have made comparisons to the recent "Sharknado 2" attack on NYC, but I held back.
Seriously, this is a gripping story of a family separated by a disaster, and though I'm sure the temptation was there to jump between the stories of the different family members, the use of longer-than-usual segments really succeeded in creating tension - it's a long time before the audience knows everyone's status, which mirrors the events after the disaster. In our ADHD world of fast cuts, spoon-fed plot points and instant gratification, the NOT knowing is almost strikingly original.
While I was growing up, my mother was the master of the worst-case scenario. I couldn't play any organized sport because I WOULD break my glasses, or possibly an arm. (Not "might" break, "would" break...) I was the only kid in 6th grade NOT allowed to go away to camp for a week, because I'd probably drown or get eaten by a bear or something. This kind of thing can stick with you, and as an adult I often anticipate that the worst possible thing is going to happen. It's a great skill when it comes to running a professional event, but it makes it tougher to enjoy personal vacations. When I took my first cruise, I thought, "Well, I could drown, or end up on a sinking ship, or on one of those cruises where the toilets stop working and the lido deck becomes the "poop" deck." I sort of had to force myself to relax and appreciate it when things failed to go wrong.
Still, it's hard for me to fly in a plane and not be aware that the most dangerous times are during take-off and landing. And I went and created my own karmic rules for travel - last year I missed my flight back from San Diego, so I analyzed what I had done wrong that day, eliminated breakfast, and tried again. This year I shipped packages back via UPS, packed my bags, paid my hotel bill, got 9 quarters for the bus to the airport, and made it to my plane's gate 2 hours ahead of boarding. While enjoying a nice sit-down lunch, I almost wished something small had gone wrong that morning, because since everything went my way, I felt like maybe I'd used up all my luck, and my plane was now more likely to crash.
And I think you can see a bit of this "travel karma" (or in this case "disaster karma") reflected in the film. The family gets an upgrade to a coastal villa - SEE! Then comes the tsunami! Right there, they clearly didn't deserve that upgrade. I bet they regretted that. So, to the MTV dickwad executive who I saw carry FOUR bags onto the plane without checking any, in clear violation of Delta's ONE carry-on bag rule, I want you to know that travel karma's a bitch, and I hope you die in a plane crash someday.
Right, the film... When separated from most of his family, the oldest boy takes down names of strangers' missing family members, and roams the hospital wards calling out their names, in the hopes of reuniting loved ones. Other times people share their cell phones, or look out for each other's kids, or just take the time to lend an ear, because even in the midst of a disaster, there's a feeling that what comes around, goes around. That's a sentiment I can get behind.
This is sort of a medical drama as well. So far in life I've endured toe surgeries, a head wound, acid reflux, TB and kidney stones - and I consider myself lucky that I've never needed to spend a night in a hospital. (Seriously, because that's where all the sick people are...) Again, the balance of karma comes into play, because if I hadn't had ANY health problems, then I'd always fear that some huge injury or disaster was looming in the future.
Speaking of which, it's almost hurricane season again, which means the entire East Coast will be on alert every time the wind picks up in the Caribbean. It will soon be two years since Hurricane Sandy, and I wonder what's been done in NYC to prevent or lessen a future disaster, or to curtail or even prepare for similar damages? I'm willing to wager that the answer is nothing... A little web research tells me that so far, they've changed the number of evacuation zones in NYC from three to six. So, I was right, nothing constructive's been done. Way to go.
Also starring Naomi Watts (last seen in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"), Tom Holland, Geraldine Chaplin (last seen in "The Age of Innocence")
RATING: 6 out of 10 tourniquets
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