Released on June 1, “Adrift” follows the true story of a couple, Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp, who were lost at sea when commissioned to sail a yacht from Tahiti to San Diego in 1983.
The movie is based on the book "Red Sky in Mourning: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea," written by Oldham as a reflection of her journey and her thoughts on surviving Hurricane Raymond.
I didn’t know that the film was based on the true story before the showing, and I was originally excited to see this movie for a couple of reasons.
First, the movie features Shailene Woodley, well-known for her roles in the young-adult films “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Divergent,” and Sam Claflin, who is most known for his role as Finnick in “The Hunger Games” films. I thought that the casting was extremely interesting, and I couldn’t wait to see the “The Hunger Games”/”Divergent” character mashup.
The second reason I wanted to see this movie is that I am a huge ocean movie fan. I love films that are filmed near the water as I find them extremely beautiful to watch — from what I could tell this movie would feature quite a bit of ocean, as well.
With “Adrift,” though, I did not see the movie that I was expecting. From the trailer, I knew that the film would be exciting, and while it was, it was also intensely emotional.
Although this film has absolutely no relation to Nicholas Sparks, his influence on the film is clearly evident.
For the first time in an extremely long time, this movie made me bawl. I was crying like crazy in the theater. Tears were streaming down my cheeks for at least half of the film's runtime.
Although the film is not sad, it tells a beautiful, tear-jerking love story. At times the events are incredibly happy, thus evoking tears of joy. Either way, I did not go into the theater expecting to cry the whole time.
As for the writing, it was like most romantic dramas, somewhat cheesy, but it gets the job done. The person I sat next to in the theater would occasionally laugh at the most cringeworthy lines as I bawled my eyes out.
Neither of the actors really impressed me with their acting, and it seems that Shailene Woodley plays the same character in almost every film — an impressive, strong, independent female with a quirky character. You won’t see anything different from Woodley in this film.
Overall, I would say to give “Adrift” a try if you are in the mood for a super romantic chick-flick and are prepared for a good cry.
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Unless your significant other also loves sad and cheesy romantic dramas, I would say that this movie is likely a hit for a girls night out. But, this is not a comedy, I cannot emphasize that enough. My best advice is to be prepared for the tears.
Timber Mabes is a culture reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @timbermabes.
