Film Reviews

Big Miracle

• Rating:
• Director: Ken Kwapis
• Starring: Drew Barrymore
• Details: US UK /107mins PG

A sweet, well meaning and generally warm production, Big Miracle is also apparently based on a true story - which might explain the slightly stoic romance at its core. Wasting the talents of (the ridiculously likeable) John Krasinski somewhat, its good intentions still shine through, and there's enough here to pass a rainy evening pleasantly enough.
Krasinski is Adam Carlson, a small town reporter in Alaska who stumbles across a story that could make his career. A trio of whales have gotten trapped in the ice near the place where he has been doing fluff stories from. Quickly garnering national attention, soon every notable reporter in America engulfs the tiny town - as well as Adam's ex-girlfriend Rachel (Barrymore), a green peace activist. As the story snowballs, the government gets involved and the whales are a priority for the army and the president.
When a film is based on real events there are naturally a lot of characters to take in. We're still being introduced to pivotal ones an hour into Big Miracle, and with each newbie, the focus shifts away from Krasinski and Barrymore - who are ostensibly the reason why the film got made. They're an appealing pairing on paper - both could fart enough charm to get an NBC pilot greenlit on its own - but while this is essentially a film that embraces community, neither are given a chance to be little more than one note plot progressions. That's a real shame, the potential was there in spades before cameras even rolled.
That said, there is an underlining sweetness that's just hard to ignore. And even when the plot goes off on tangents to take in some other mildly relevant figure who had something to do with the rescue, it's done with such warmth it's difficult not to get on board. Sure, cynical sorts will find certain elements mockable - the amount of money spent etc - but this is a true story, and there's no escaping that.
Sure, it could've been a better film with more focus, but Big Miracle is still an amiable effort that will play broadly and play well.

Review by Mike Sheridan