Adrift (2018) Review
4:01 PM
Fight for Survival
This review contains spoilers.
This review contains spoilers.
Adrift is one of those rare films that I did not have any expectations for prior to watching. I knew it was about Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin lost at sea, but that was it. In most areas, Adrift is a mediocre film. Shailene Woodley's fantastic performance does not belong in such a middling movie. The plot is highly romanticised but considering the screenplay is an adaptation of Tami Oldham's real-life account, the romanticisation is pretty harmless. It's thrilling enough to be engaging for 90 minutes, but if it was any longer, the audience would go, for lack of a better word, adrift.
Shailene Woodley's performance in this film is going to be forgotten and overlooked this upcoming awards season. If the direction, writing, and other cast members were as impressive as Woodley, Adrift would have been a serious contender. It is no coincidence that STX Films have opted to release the film on a quiet summer weekend instead of during the fall or winter amidst awards affair. Woodley impresses in nearly all of her roles: Big Little Lies, The Fault in Our Stars and even Divergent - She is by far the best thing about Adrift. Woodley's performance is multi-dimensional; it convincingly exists on two different layers. She first gives a loving, determined and fearless performance and then after a major plot twist, the same performance becomes heart-breaking, brave and discrete. Woodley takes the audience on this emotional rollercoaster with her as she is faced with many life-threatening scenarios. Woodley elevates the entire film.
Sam Claflin once again finds himself in a role where he is not very mobile and is therefore limited. Claflin was in a similar position in Me Before You. In that film, Claflin was able to make quite the impression but in Adrift, his role is a nonstarter. Claflin's Richard is either the generic gentleman or the restricted advisor. Unfortunately, he lacked charisma and did not make much of an impression. He still had good chemistry with Woodley but I believe Woodley was doing most of the heavy lifting. There's a reason the careers of these two YA stars have taken different paths since leaving the genre.
Boring, slow and dull are all words that I would be using to describe Adrift if it was any longer. The film felt around 120 minutes long but only ran for around 90 minutes. I was glad it ended when it did. It would be difficult for a 90-minute film about a couple stuck on a sinking boat to be engaging. While the plot is comparable to Titanic and The Shallows; Titanic had higher stakes and a compelling love story and The Shallows had a formidable shark. After the initial storm, all Adrift has is Woodley and Claflin on a boat. It was a smart move for the first half of the film to flashback to different moments of the couple's relationship. This not only made the film more engaging but developed their relationship (although said development could have been richer). Thankfully, the storm sequence is thrilling and the hope that the couple will be rescued maintains the audience's interest.
Adrift is a romantic drama. I found the romanticisation of this tragic story slightly problematic. Eventually, Adrift becomes a story about a strong and valiant woman who has survived 41 days lost at sea. However, before it is revealed that Richard is a ghost, Adrift is a story about a couple who survive. Despite being injured and in a dreadful situation, the couple still manages to have many sentimental and sweet moments. It is almost as if this tragedy tests the couple and makes them stronger. Although the twist is well executed and does come as a surprise, are mental hallucinations or death really something to use for shock value? The real-life Tami Oldham stated that a voice in her head helped her to push through and the writers turned that voice into a character. While I did enjoy the twist, it is hard to see past the blatant romanticisation, sugar-coating and arguably distasteful emotional manipulation. Adrift is what every Nicholas Sparks movie aspires to be.
I enjoyed Kormákur's Everest far more than Adrift. However, his direction does not lack the ambitious cinematography and visuals. Kormákur's editing in this film is often close to genius; he uses match cutting to mirror the couple's past pleasant experiences with this new terrifying one. For example, Tami screams when she struggles through the storm but also when she jumps off a rock. The same visuals are also mirrored in scenes before and after the storm (e.g. meditating). Kormákur's directing is thoughtful. For $35 million, the visuals during the storm are excellent. They look just as good as the storm scenes in Tomb Raider and that film cost $94 million!
For Kormákur, this is a disappointing follow-up to Everest (did anyone really see The Oath?). For the Kandell twins, this is a disappointing sophomore screenplay adaptation. For David Branson Smith, this is a disappointing follow up to the satirical and smart Ingrid Goes West. For Sam Claflin, this is another forgettable performance. For Shailene Woodley? This is one of the strongest performances of her career. She elevates everything about this film. There are some genuinely thrilling and surprising moments, but there are also some moments that could be interpreted as distasteful and heavily sugar-coated. Coming in at around 90 minutes, Adrift is short (but feels longer), sweet and serviceable; it remains engaging. Woodley's performance is this film's anchor.
60
/100
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