ADRIFT – A Review by Cynthia Flores
Bring your motion sickness pills because you’ll feel like you were on the boat with Tami Oldman (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin Grace Palmer) during the worst of the storm that hit the couple in real life in 1983. This new film Adrift directed by Baltasar Kormakur who did a great job of putting the audience in the mix is definitely best seen on the big screen in a movie theater. This film has some of the most horrifying scenes of being trapped on a boat in the middle of a hurricane on the Pacific Ocean that I’ve ever seen. It’s the stuff of nightmares and the reason some of us prefer to be landlocked.
Adrift is loosely based on the true story of the lovebirds that took the job of sailing a friend’s big boat from Tahiti to San Diego in California. With the use of flashbacks, we are shown how the two met and fell in love.
The choice to jump back and forth from the present aftermath of surviving the storm to the sweet story of their romance was a smart move but with a catch. Smart because it kept us from being overwhelmed by the brutality of surviving on the sea for 41 days but the catch is that the romance part of it suffered because the relationship did not get a chance to take root for us. It kept the relationship shallow and just looked like a postcard romp on the beach – pretty, but not much there. Add to that the fact that the actress Shailene Woodley is great at the tough and gritty survival part of the story but just seems like a silly little girl on the romance parts.
Her character is supposed to be twenty-four years old but she comes across as a very young girl. I know this is supposed to be her movie to “break away” from the teenage parts that made her famous, so of course she spends a lot of time in bikinis showing off her grown up figure and even has a topless scene with total nudity to prove she’s not a child any longer. I was actually surprised they were able to keep the PG-13 rating with the nudity. Perhaps with a few more years under her belt she’ll grow into her sexuality and be able to successfully pull off an adult romantic lead. I would like to see that because I think she is a really strong actress.
Adrift is not a great movie but it is good so I give it a solid B+ Rating. So ditch the hot summer heat and take a bumpy ride on the high seas, and don’t forget the popcorn because it's a long movie.
Directed by Baltasar Kormakur
Written By Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell, David Branson Smith
Rated PG-13
Selig Rating B+
Running Time 2hrs
Action/ Adventure/Drama
Wide Release June 1st
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, Grace Palmer
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn't paid for it.
