Review: Adrift, the true story of being lost at sea

ADRIFT, a compelling, based-on-a-true-story survivalist yarn, captures the emotional trauma felt during 41 days of being marooned on a half-wrecked boat after a hurricane hits in the Pacific. It’ll put you through the ringer, and then some.

ORDEAL? Or no ordeal?

That is the starkly analog suite of choices facing prospective viewers of Adrift.

This is a compelling, based-on-a-true-story survivalist yarn, in which you get to experience 41 days’ worth of being hopelessly marooned on a half-wrecked boat in just 95 minutes.

The basic facts surrounding what happened have been well chronicled in print and online. However, if you have conveniently forgotten the particulars, or are coming to the party as a first-time guest, then the movie will put you through the wringer, and then some.

In 1983, American tourist Tami Oldham Ashcraft (well played by Shailene Woodley) and her British fiancee Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) set sail by yacht on a 6500-kilometre journey from Tahiti to San Diego.

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Sam Claflin and Shailene Woodley star in Adrift.

Midway through the voyage, the couple were relentlessly rag-dolled by a rampant Pacific hurricane.

The extreme damage done to the vessel — and a remote location far from the nearest shipping lanes — left no choice but to float along on oceanic currents in the vague hope of somehow colliding with dry land.

The movie’s jigsaw-like structure (which commences immediately after the storm has passed) will be a sticking point for some viewers.

Not least because the filmmakers piece together the truth while flashing a dramatic licence they may not have the right to use.

after being hit in a Pacific hurricane, they spend 41 days drifting in the sea.

In the interests of staying out of the spoiler zone, no further details can be offered on this front. Nevertheless, you should be aware that the mere existence of a (sort of) shock twist puts a question mark on events where there really should be a full stop.

Where Adrift does excel is in chronicling the traumatic physical and emotional effects of the incident on Tami Oldham Ashcraft (whose 2002 memoirs serve as the primary source for what is depicted here).

Shailene Woodley clearly holds a deep admiration for Ashcraft, a fiercely independent spirit who was determined not to give in to a seemingly inevitable bleak fate without putting up a fight.

The direct connection between actress and subject saves the movie from swerving too far off its designated course. This link becomes particularly important when the flashbacks to the good times and the flash-forwards to the terrifying times begin working against each other.

The movie has a jigsaw-like structure, with flashforwards to the terrifying and good times.

ADRIFT (M)

Rating: Three stars (3 out of 5)

Director: Baltasar Kormakur (Everest)

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin.

Sometimes you just have to go with the float

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