The story also follows several other characters including a jaded journalist (Tim Roth) investigating official mishandling of the tsunami threat; another tourist (Gina McKee) coping with her husband's death and a severely injured son; and a devoted aid worker (Toni Collette) who cuts through bureaucratic nonsense to help those in need. Through these excellent performances, Tsunami: The Aftermath gains strength as an engrossing study of tenacity, compassion, and survival amidst chaos. Would a real-life docudrama have been more dramatically effective? Perhaps, but as a worthy alternative, Tsunami brings complex humanity to a tragic event that can't be neatly summarized with statistics, interviews, and round-the-clock coverage on CNN. --Jeff Shannon