Adrift reminiscent of The Beach meets The Perfect Storm, meets Cast Away.s movie
(EDITORS NOTE: This is a repost from the blog Just Joia Shootin the Sh*t)Last week, I attended an early screening of the film Adrift, featuring a Q&A with stars Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, and director Baltasar Kormákur.
Adrift is broken down into three distinct acts. The beginning of the movie details how Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) meet in Tahiti in 1983. Tami Oldham is a 20 something young woman who frolics around the globe, going anywhere the wind takes her. She stops in Tahiti and works at a marina where Richard Sharp docks his sailboat. The two quickly fall in love and become inseparable.
They are offered an opportunity to pilot a magnificent sailboat from Tahiti to California. The second act of the film illustrates the category 5 hurricane that capsizes their sailboat and really sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Once again I have to mention how this film was beautifully shot. The storm scenes made my heart race. The third act is where the survival story comes into play. The sailboat is adrift for over 40 days and the audience is drawn into the survival story and how they survive from one day to the next.
I really enjoyed this movie. I absolutely loved the cinematography. It was such a breathtakingly beautiful film. It was reminiscent of The Beach meets The Perfect Storm, meets Cast Away. I loved all three of those films and Adrift embodied my favorite aspects of each one of them. I absolutely LOVE movies like this, where one of the stars is the ocean, itself. Adrift was filmed on location in Fiji. Director Baltasar Kormákur was able to perfectly communicate his deep love, adoration, and respect for the ocean and brought out amazing performances from Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin.
I loved Shailene Woodley in the Divergent movies and her performance in this film blew me away. The audience is made to fall in love with her right alongside Richard as the story progresses and then we are forced to witness every range of emotions known to man as she pushes through what seems like an impossible undertaking.
Sam Claflin stole my heart as Finnick Odair in the Hunger Games movies and he did not disappoint in Adrift. As Tami falls in love with Richard in the most romantic location possible, we as the audience do as well. The couple bonds over their shared love of sailing and the big blue and the two of them become beloved in our eyes as well. It is absolutely unbelievable that this fascinating and incredible story of survival was completely based on a true story and real events. I can’t wait to see it again! Watch the trailer below:
Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp couldn’t anticipate that they would be sailing directly into one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in recorded history. In the aftermath of the storm, Tami awakens to find Richard badly injured and their boat in ruins. With no hope of rescue, Tami must now find the strength and determination to save herself and the only man she has ever loved.
Adrift is now in theaters everywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joia DaVida is a Jersey girl at heart, but after living in Southern Florida for over 20 years, packed up her two brilliant and beautiful daughters and road tripped across America to relocate in LA, California. Now she’s living life to it’s fullest, enjoying everything Los Angeles has to offer – including CBM and genre films. Follow her blog here.
