Multiple Perspective Review: "Adrift"

As it turns out, going into a hurricane is not the best destination for a couple's retreat.


"Adrift" is a true story about a couple that gets stranded in the middle of the ocean after a hurricane wrecks their boat.  The two have to make it back to land on their shipwreck before running out of food and water.  At the same time, the film cuts to flashbacks showing how the two characters fell in love.


I went to see this film with a some members of my family, so I was able to get a few different perspectives and opinions on the film.  As a general consensus, "Adrift" was good but not great.


My younger brother and sister both said they enjoyed the film.  I think my sister liked "Adrift" a bit more, but my brother said he liked how it was different and based on a true story.


"I think the movie was very romantic and touching," said Isabelle Exsted, my 15-year-old sister.  "I think it was inspiring to people and entertaining."


My grandma said the movie was okay.  She seemed to enjoy most of it, but she did say that the beginning seemed more like a Lifetime television movie.


"It dragged along in certain places," said Suzanne Hansen, my grandmother.  "I'd compare it to 'Cast Away.'"


My grandfather said he didn't like "Adrift".  He said the flashbacks bothered him because the constant back and forth messed up the chronology of the film, which is a very important element when presenting a true story.


My main complaint was with the flashbacks as well.  The film constantly shifts from present to past without any warning, which made the film tonally inconsistent.  Worst of all, this structure served no purpose to the plot.


I thought the cinematography was good in this film, for the most part.  The most impressive aspect of the filmmaking is the on-location filming, meaning they went out into the middle of the ocean to film a majority of the scenes.  "Adrift" had some extremely creative shots at the beginning, but it felt like the directing got worse as the film went on.


The score was very mediocre and bland.  I can hardly remember what the music sounded like, but it was particularly forgettable and uninspired.


Shailene Woodley did a good job with her performance as Tami.  I believe that this is an empowering role for women because it is a tale about a woman finding the will to keep fighting without any assistance from her injured boyfriend.  I was somewhat nervous early on because she was overacting a bit, but she definitely became more engrossed in her role as the film went on.


It is a sad, melodramatic film based on a true story about love and survival.  If you are interested in any of those traits, I'd suggest seeing "Adrift".  I thought this film did some things well, but it was a very average movie-going experience overall.

***SPOILERS***

There was a twist ending that I thought made the film a lot worse.  The film revealed that Tami was just hallucinating her injured boyfriend on the boat, which means he died in the hurricane.  The filmmakers do foreshadow this a bit, but it is a bit disrespectful and unnecessary.

I understand that this is supposed to be symbolic for not being alone and surviving to preserve his memory, but this really bothered me because he is a key element of the plot.  Not only did this not happen in real life, but it undermines the bond of the two characters because half of their story feels like a waste.  It seems like this was kept in the script because the two characters together made the film less boring rather than expanding the emotional bond that Tami and Richard shared.

"It's not as exciting of a movie if it was just her," said Max Exsted, my 11-year-old brother.


I think this detracted from the overall film experience for everybody I saw the film with.  The filmmakers might have thought this was clever, but it ended up being bothersome and confusing.