I was a little worried going in that knowing the true story would dull the impact. I didn't need to. As I was watching the movie, I found myself forgetting all about it. That's the power of great acting and story telling. The structure of the film was brilliant. Starting with the aftermath of the hurricane and then alternating between the story of Tami and Richard falling in love and building a relationship and the one of them trying to survive worked on many levels. It helped give both stories a sense of time passage while keeping the film moving at great pace. The alternating scenes informed each other. But even more importantly when the two stories converged they did it so perfectly at the moment so precise, the impact was twice as strong. Of course none of this would have worked if the acting weren't so heartbreakingly real. Shailene Woodley made everything Tami felt so vivid and palpable, it was like I felt it with her. She was assisted beautifully by Sam Claflin in what I consider the definition of a great supporting performance. He was given little to work with and some questionable quality lines (which he magically stripped of all cheese). Yet he made Richard a living, breathing human being, so loving and lovable, that when Shailene's Tami was smitten by him, it was impossible not to be smitten along with her and not to feel everything else she felt for him.
Review of Adrift
