À la dérive

"Adrift" (PG-13, 2:00) is an action-adventure drama-romance produced and directed by Baltasar Kormákur ("Everest", "2 Guns", "The Deep") and written by David Branson Smith ("Ingrid Goes West") and Aaron and Jordan Kandell ("Moana"), based on the book by Tami Ashcraft. Unlike most movies dramatizing something that actually happened, this one doesn't begin with the usual qualifiers of "Based on a true story" or "Inspired by a true story". This one tells us simply, "This is a true story."

Tami Oldham (Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Shailene Woodley) is a single 24-year-old adventurer, originally from San Diego, who works her way from place to place on a worldwide voyage of self-discovery. As the film opens, she gets off a boat in Tahiti and responds to the custom agent's questions by admitting she doesn't have an occupation or any idea how long she'll be staying in the country. In spite of her apparent aimlessness, she gets her passport stamped and starts working at the docks doing maintenance on various pleasure craft. That's where she meets the handsome and charming Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin), who is in the process of sailing around the world on a journey similar to Tami's.

Tami and Richard are well on their way to falling in love when a wealthy older couple ask Richard to sail their yacht to San Diego, in exchange for $10,000 and a First Class airline ticket back to Tahiti. Make that two First Class tickets. Tami says she's not ready to go home yet, but she doesn't want to be separated from her new love, so she comes along for the ride... and, as a novice sailor herself, to help out where she can. Unfortunately for the young lovers, they get caught up in a monster storm at sea that damages the boat - and each of them - severely. The best solution seems to be allowing the prevailing currents to carry the boat east, try to navigate towards Hawaii - and try to survive long enough to get there.

"Adrift" is this film's title, but the story is anything but. Appearing in flashbacks, the story of Tami and Richard is told parallel with the story of the journey to Hawaii. It's an especially effective plot device in this intelligent screenplay. The two leads are each first class actors who play their roles expertly and with undeniable chemistry. This film compares well with Robert Redford's "All is Lost" and Tom Hanks' "Cast Away", with the added allure of the romance and the strong foundation of being a true story. "A-"

Plot - good. Acting game - good. Mixing between past and present - also a good idea. So there're pretty good things about the movie. But the main problem is that the film is somehow slow (even though it's only 90 minutes) and the last half an hour was boring. I wouldn't watch it again but I don't regret spending time on it so I would say the IMDb raiting is definitely too low.

Based on a true story. A bittersweet tale of high seas adventure, based on a true story. Worked well with flash backs to the back story. Well paced with excellent performances. Outstanding performance from Shailey Woodley. I can't imagine being lost at sea for that long, a total nightmare.

Great movie that never lost my attention. Between the surprising twists (that I won't mention because they would be spoilers) and the intense action all through the movie I was glued to the screen. Shailene Woodley's great acting carried the movie like, in a smaller way, how Tom Hanks captivated in Cast Away. Definitely worth seeing. I would suggest see it without knowing much about the story.

"Adrift" is a good survival drama that you know what to expect but Shailene Woodley makes it more emotionally satisfying than it would be otherwise. All the performances are exceptional, directed with good pace and beautiful cinematography and effects by Baltasar Kormakur.

This realistic, suspenseful and romantic, true story it's not quite as exciting as watching Blake Lively fighting against sharks in "The Shallows" from two summers ago, but there's still enough of interest to keep the new nautical drama "Adrift" afloat. And of course it is always refreshing to see a film where a female protagonist isn't passively waiting for a rescue. Overall it is an entertaining film with a solid dramatization of real events.