Adrift

This film was doing reasonably well at the theater where I work so I decided to take it in during its last screening. I had seen "All is Lost" staring only Robert Redford a few years before and "Adrift" had some differences to be sure. There was enough originality to make "Adrift" better than "All is Lost" but "Adrift" isn't special enough to have any lasting impact. We have seen survival shows before and while the end of the film contained a noteworthy moment, I really don't need to see this film a second time. There were other cinematic aspects of "Adrift" that should be mentioned however.

The cinematography is mostly handheld which adds to the realism. The filmmakers also went handheld for scenes that took place before the disaster, such as when Tami and Richard jump off the cliff into the creek. I took note of shots where the camera would move above and below the waterline and the use of sound during those moments was well done. The editor of this movie is John Gilbert and his past works include "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Hacksaw Ridge" (he won an Oscar for editing the latter film). The non-linear plot was an interesting choice and perhaps this was done to stand out from other films in the genre. The special effects during Hurricane Raymond were well done and the acting also had its moments. I first saw Shailene Woodley in "Snowden" and her work in "Adrift" stood out from the other performances in the movie. That is important when you have the leading role. Miles Teller was supposed to play Richard but scheduling conflicts prevented that from happening.

For those who don't go to the movies that much, "Adrift" may be worth seeing. I feel that it could have done even better as a TV movie. There are good things about it but I can't say that five years from now I will still be thinking about this show.

3.5 Stars out of 5