Director: Baltasar Kormákur Starring: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin Studio: STXfilms Genre(s): Drama Rated: PG-13 (For injury images, peril, language, brief drug use, partial nudity and thematic elements) |
“Adrift” is a movie that for a good portion left me feeling
cold and indifferent. I don’t particularly
like movies that start in the middle of the story (only to backtrack to the
beginning) for the most part. I usually
consider it a sign that the film makers don’t trust the audience to stay
engaged with the story until the gears get into motion. I complained about this a couple of years ago
when Clint Eastwood made the odd decision to start “Sully” near the end of the
story with the trial, as if the plane crashing in the first ten minutes was too
slow of a start to properly engage the audience. This is not a fatal flaw though, as the title
itself strongly hints at the events to come, and once I saw the full movie, the
hacked-up screenplay made much more sense, and I was able to appreciate what
the film makers were trying to accomplish.
Once I was able to see the whole picture, it was time to
re-evaluate the film as a whole, as a journey and character drama where two
traveling lovebirds find themselves shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean. We’ve seen stories like this before, of
course. “Life of Pi” and “Cast Away”
both stand out as exceptional films that dealt with sophisticated themes of
survival and what inspires one to live in the face of all odds. I doubt “Adrift” will join the ranks of those
films (for reasons I am hesitant to revel), but it is based off the true story
of Tammy Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin), so this
film should (at least in theory) be based more on the facts than any artistic
speculation. It is merely telling a true-life
story of two free spirits who traveled the world on a boat, free from a
mortgage and responsibilities, who get on the bad side of Mother Nature.
Before the accident Tammy is merely a young woman traveling
the world. Conversations later on clue
us in that she might be running from life more so than she is sightseeing, but
for now she’s young and unattached, thus she lives a life many of us look back
on and wish we had done ourselves. She
meets Richard on these travels and is impressed with his custom-made boat and
ability to properly gut a fish he caught by hand (despite herself being a
vegetarian). The two have dinner, share
stories of parents that expected more from them, and decide to continue their
individual journeys together. I’m sorry
to say I wish we got to know them better before the disaster occurs. Again, having seen the whole movie, I
understand this direction, but it is a hurdle for us to be too concerned for
their survival (outside of basic human empathy that is) when we are getting to
know them after the fact.
As the film goes on we do get to know them better and even
grow to like them. Even if this comes a
little late in the game, I suppose it comes early enough for us to truly care,
so I’ll chalk that up to a win in the movies favor. Truthfully, the movie might best be
remembered for the unconventional way it pulls itself out of under the weight
it sets up for itself and manages to do something truly memorable. I’m not sure if that memorable thing is
enough to get me to watch it again, since I perfectly understood what it means
and have no need to revisit it again.
But, yeah, I’ll admit…it left an impression on me. I guess this makes “Adrift” one of the truest
recent examples of a movie that probably didn’t normally do enough to get by,
but managed to do that one thing incredibly well that to not recommend it would
be akin to not giving a passing grade to that one kid who made a wise point in
his book review that was otherwise all over the place. Take that for what you will (I know I sure
did).
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CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is some scenes of intense violence, mild language, and even a scene with a fully nude Shailene Woodley. Recommended for ages 15 and up. up.
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