Adrift

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Thomas, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Grace Palmer, Tami Ashcraft
Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A couple (Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin) sailing in the Pacific get hit with one of the worst hurricanes on record. Their trip becomes a fight for survival.

Tim: I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Baltasar Kormakur's Adrift. It tells a true story of amazing survival against nearly insurmountable odds. The story is told in powerful fashion and there are some truly emotional moments. The film looks incredible and it makes you feel like you're there on the ocean with the characters. All in all, I found this movie exceptionally entertaining and it's a movie I really enjoyed.

We've seen a number of these survival-at-sea movies, but it's not like we've had so many that they feel redundant. There's something inherently exciting about seeing humans struggling to survive against the nearly limitless ocean. I love the idea of people battling against the elements- hurricanes, wind, the beating down sun- all in such an exposed setting. This movie does a good job of portraying the surroundings. There's some beautiful high-level shots of the small boat on the endless sea that really made you feel the enormity of the challenge ahead of the characters. I love that so much of this was actually filmed on the water- it gives the film this sense of realism. Kormakur has experience with films like this, and it shows.

It also helps that the two leads are so effective. Shailene Woodley is a legitimately talented actress and I thought she gave a great performance here. She was unassuming, yet fierce. Her portrayal of this character felt authentic to me- both her incredible strengths and her limitations as well. Woodley is called upon to do a lot of physical things in the film and she rose to the occasion. I was a fan of Woodley before this film, but I left it even more impressed with her. I also liked Sam Claflin here. He has this likeable quality that was needed for the role. Even though he spends much of the film unable to move, he makes his presence felt. I thought he gave a particularly strong performance for someone who was simply in pain for long stretches of the film. I loved the chemistry between Woodley and Claflin- they really worked well together.

The movie did a great job of really setting the stage for what happened. We understand enough details of the storm and the characters' attempts to survive to really pull us into the action. Kormakur spends time on some smaller details that make a big difference. This film felt like Kormakur and the writers focused on the right details to really bring this story to life. I also liked how the film jumped between two different time periods. Sometimes this can feel gimmicky and disruptive, but the opposite was true here. The different periods allowed us to more fully understand the characters and their journey. I really enjoyed how that was done.

Adrift was a well made, exciting film. There's at least one shocking, powerful moment, but there's so many more quieter moments that made up this compelling story. I enjoyed the characters and their stories. The visuals were impressive. All in all, this movie delivered exactly what you want from a film like this and I'd consider it an exceptionally good film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: All is Lost, The Perfect Storm