"Adrift" Movie Review

Imagine for a moment that you're setting sail from Tahiti (which is in the South Pacific), headed to San Diego. Then a Category 5 hurricane hits. You miraculously survive but now you're stranded in the middle of nowhere with a damaged boat, limited rations, and the radio is damaged so you can't send out a distress call. What would you do? Shailene Woodley brings to life the intense and heartbreaking true story of Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp, two lovers who have to rely on each other to survive some of the worst situations.

Adrift is well-crafted. I at first was aggravated with the constant flashbacks. See, the film starts with the aftermath of the hurricane and throughout the film, we're shown Tami and Richard's backstory leading up to the hurricane. I wasn't sure why it was crafted this way but by the end, I completely understood why there was no other way it could have been done. Be patient, the payoff is well worth it.

Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin have great chemistry, making you smile and absolutely adore their loving relationship. They play off one another so well that it almost seems like you're watching a documentary rather than a dramatization.

There were only two downsides to the film. The first was that it could move a bit slowly at times, but I imagine time would seem to stand still after a few days stranded on the ocean. Still, it seems like there would be a way to move things along just a little bit. The second was that there wasn't as much emotional content as you would think. Sure, their depicted relationship was sweet and there were a couple hard-hitting moments, but that was it. Survival is an emotional, intense experience and, while I was invested in the characters, I didn't 100% feel for them the way I wanted to.

All in all, the film is excellent and near-perfect. It had its faults but there were far more good elements than there were bad. I give the film a 3.5 out of 4.