Big Miracle (2012)
Certified: U
Duration: 123 minutes
Directed by: Kevin Kwapis
Starring: John Crasinski, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Vinessa Shaw, Stephen Root, Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroney, Rob Riggle, Michael Gaston, Megan Angela Smith, Tim Blake Nelson
KRS release

Big Miracle is based on a true story that made headlines in 1988, when a family of three grey whales got trapped under the forming ice in Alaska.

Based on the 1989 book Freeing the Whales by Tom Rose, the film is all about the people who tried their best to save the trapped whales.

Local journalist Adam Carlson (John Crasinski) was the one to report the story, hoping that it would catapult him into the limelight.

The story did in fact go national and attracted the interests of many people. These included: Rachel (Drew Barrymore), a Greenpeace activist and also an ex-girlfriend, Kelly Meyers (Vinessa Shaw), a White House worker who believed the story could patch President Reagan’s shoddy environmental record and also Jill Jerard (Kristen Bell), a swanky LA reporter.

Involved is also executive for oil company J.W. McGraw (Ted Danson) who is looking to get some good PR out of this. The military under Colonel Scott Boyer (Dermot Mulroney) is brought in to use their equipment to liberate Fred, Wilma and Bam Bam – as the three whales are called.

Trouble arises when Bam Bam becomes ill after hitting its head against the ice while the temperature drops. Help is on the way from an unlikely source: native Inupaits Malik and Nathan (John Paingayak and Ahmaogak Sweeney), inventors Karl and Dean (James LeGros and Rob Riggle) from Minnesota and also a Soviet Navy ship.

Big Miracle is an uplifting film and manages to be so without excessively tugging at your heartstrings.

The film is about how the plight of the whales touched people, the media and how the story spread across sitting rooms all over the world.

Drew Barrymore delivers one of her flimsy roles which is quite unusual since she had lately been going for more serious staff. However, she is just right in this part.

The film is ably directed by Ken Kwap from TV’s The Office, who had already worked with John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore.

Here he pairs the two together and creates a good feeling on screen.

Mr Krasinski delivers a very natural performance while Mr Danson is a bit sly as the oil executive.

All those who liked films such as Soul Surfer and Dolphin Tale will find a lot to like in this picture.

The fact that this is a true story is also to be taken into consideration, amplified by clever techniques and the film’s direction throughout.

The whales are depicted using a mix of news footage and computer-generated imagery which is very effective and it is in these moments that the audience should do well to take on more of a self-aware approach at what is happening to the world around us.

The Sarah Palin segment is a real hoot in what is a very likable film.