Adrift
A solid dramatization of real world events, Adrift is nevertheless more compelling as a grisly survival drama than a love story.
Set in the year 1983,Adriftfollows Tami Oldham ( Shailene Woodley ) , a young 20 - something wandering the world and expect to lead her old life in San Diego behind her . Upon making her direction to Tahiti ( it is , indeed , a wizard place ) , Tami span paths with Richard Sharp ( Sam Claflin ) , a 30 - something sailor whom she quickly take a liking to and , some five months later , falls properly in love with . As such , Tami is only somewhat hesitant to company Richard when he is hired by a affluent twosome to sail their princely boat from Tahiti to California - an extensive journeying that will further take Tami back to her former family .
However , what starts out as challenging but manageable ( and even romantic ) journeying for the couple turns into a nightmare when a massive ocean violent storm strikes . Despite their best efforts to voyage around it , the pair end up sailing right into the hurricane and are only able to survive through sheer luck , more than anything else . With Richard badly hurt and their vas leave damage and drifting , it descend to Tami to find the posture and bravery within herself to not only keep them alive , but try and keep their ship guide to Hawaii : their best guesswork at survival , given their current state .
pen by David Branson Smith ( Ingrid Goes West ) and comrade Aaron and Jordan Kandell ( Moana),Adriftjumps back and forth in clock time between the film ’s present - where Tami and Richard are strand at ocean - and past , as the couple meet for the first clip and precipitate in dearest . It ’s an interesting narrative structure that serve to makeAdrift ’s two half ( the love story and survival of the fittest thriller ) palpate equally important , but yields mismatched returns . The shifts in clip can be heavy - handed in the way they juxtapose the horrifying aftermath of the violent storm in the write up with the happier time that go on them and , at other moment , just disrupt the plot menses in the separate timeline . On the other script , this approach helps to create more tenseness as Tami and Richard ’s floor in the past begins to catch up to their current predicament , while at the same sentence show up how Tami ’s relationship with Richard shaped her into the survivalist we see in the present .
Part of the trouble withAdrift ’s love story yarn is that Woodley and Claflin , while solid player on their own , do n’t have a whole lot in the way of screen alchemy . ( Woodley ’s frequent costar Miles Teller , who was originally in line to play Richard , probably would have been good in the part for that very reason . ) The connecter that forms between the characters is credible enough but , unfortunately , there ’s never a real spark between them that do their romance as moving and heart - thaw as it ’s intend to be . For that reason , Adriftis most compelling in the view where Woodley as Tami is carry the movie firmly on her shoulder and leading the billing to keep herself and the nearly - incapacitated Richard awake .
likewise , Kormákur seems most surefooted and ambitious in his direction when it come to stagingAdrift ’s survival thriller scenes , starting with the picture ’s impressive chronological succession shot porta . Adriftis often beautifully photographed by the three - prison term Oscar winner and frequent Quentin Tarantino cinematographer Robert Richardson , who finds style to make the pelagic scenery here feel threatening , inviting , or alien , depending on what the moment yell for . The film ’s wakeless design is equally important in immersing the consultation in the feeling of being at sea , with nothing but a damaged ( and often grave ) boat at one ’s disposition . As he did withEverest , Kormákur takes a relatively small budget ( $ 35 million , in this guinea pig ) and makes it work to incontrovertible effect here , giving ascent to a movie that ’s better looking and sometimes better voice than far more expensive Hollywood fare .
Because its technical aspect and workmanship - include , constitution that give Woodley and Claflin a convincingly bedraggled look after weeks lose at sea - outshine its story , Adriftlacks depth compared to other true story - inspired selection dramas . It also get up scant as a character sketch and prefers to reveal Tami and Richard ’s backstories prior to their time together through useful but perfunctory expounding , rather than show it by other mean . As a result , most of the film ’s substance and heart come from Woodley ’s solo performance , more than her interaction with Claflin .
On the whole though , Adriftis a perfectly competent dramatic thriller inspired by a real world account about survival of the fittest in the fount of intimidating odds . It ’s not a must - see in theaters for that reason , but the film certainly benefits from the raise visuals and audio frequency that the with child screen affords . Adriftfurther establishes Kormákur as a film producer whose specialness is bestow man vs. nature tale to cinematic sprightliness and , at the same time , gives Woodley another remarkable dramatic performance to tot up to her growing consistence of oeuvre . Those so inclined are thus advised to get lose at sea this weekend .
TRAILER
Adriftis now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide . It is 96 second long and is rated PG-13 for injury images , risk , language , brief drug use , fond nudeness and thematic elements .
Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin in Adrift
