In 1983, Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley, "Divergent" series) is a free-spirited 23-year old who left her San Diego home and arrives in Tahiti. She works odd-end jobs to make ends meet, earning enough to fund her next trip. She meets a British sailor, Richard Sharp (Sam Clafin, ("The Hunger Games" series), who considers the open seas his home. Their mutual wanderlust brings them close and they fall in love.
When an older couple offers them a job to sail their luxury sailboat to San Diego for a $10K and first-class tickets, they set sail for a trip of their lives. A hurricane nearly sinks the sailboat and the uneventful trip becomes a survival story. Richard is severely injured and it's up to Tami to care for him, ration food and water, fix the sailboat and get them to safety. Stranded, scared, sun-burned, starving and dehydrated, the wounded novice sailor decides to change the course from San Diego to Hawaii, closer but still a journey of 1,500 miles. If she misses Hawaii, there would be no other land until Japan.
Director Baltasar Kormakur ("Everest") parallels the couple's struggle to survive and being adrift with their courtship, the carefreeness of a young love in a tropical paradise filled with sea breeze and romantic sunsets. If the constant flashbacks break the dramatic momentum, there's a reason for the structure. A nifty twist makes it effective in the end.
Since the film is based on a true story, it's best to go in without knowing anything. Among the summer blockbuster movies, "Adrift" floats swimmingly as a woman vs. nature and love story.
https://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-reviews-american-animals-adrift/
