Adrift

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin

Director: Baltasar Kormakur

A true story of endurance, this shipwreck saga really puts its two lead actors through the mill. If director Kormakur, who also made Everest, wanted reality, he certainly got it.

Free spirit Tami (Woodley), travelling round the world, pretty much throws herself at handsome UK yachtsman Richard (Claflin) and soon becomes a permanent fixture on his own travels.

While in Tahiti, they're approached by an English couple who must return home at once, and ask Richard, a longtime acquaintance, to sail their luxury yacht back to California. American Tami would rather go to Japan than back home, but, to stay with Richard (who proposes en voyage), she agrees.

All goes well until they find themselves caught in a hurricane. The mast is broken, the sails shredded, and Richard is tossed overboard. Later, we see Tami rescue him, but he is badly injured.

Naturally all the meat of the drama takes place on board the beleaguered boat, and the interpolation of scenes back in the past becomes superfluous and only serves to disrupt the flow of the film, especially with the rather soppy, rose-tinted romance at its centre - although these flashbacks do include a massive leap from cliff to river (which the stars did for real) which is rather fun.

Claflin is sort-of OK as Richard, to whom he bears a close resemblance, but the husky-voiced Woodley, who also co-produced, is undoubtedly the star of the film, doing tricky underwater scenes, braving the elements and generally giving a totally committed performance.

David Quinlan

USA/New Zealand 2018. UK Distributor: STX International. Colour by Company C.
102 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 26 Jun 2018