Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Thomas, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Grace Palmer, Kael Damlamian, Siala Tunoka, Luna Campbell, Zac Beresford.

There will always be those that decry the nature of heroism, citing their disdain as folly those who see the world as a place in which to seek out the new, the challenges, they shout the idea of recklessness as if it was not in our nature to explore, to push our bodies to the limits, and the mind just that little further onwards.

To the doom mongers, the sneering and the trolls, perhaps sailing across the ocean is a risk of their own inviting and when it goes wrong, we should not feel pity, compassion for their plight. However, to be Adrift in life is the point of feeling compassion for another human being, to those that push the boundaries and take risks that seek to address the lethargy and apathy in others, we should arguably congratulate and praise. It is to that part that the film Adrift is everything you would hope it would be and one that celebrates the power of the human experience.

Shailene Woodley captures the essence of the film with absolute sincerity and wonder, the dichotomy of the rage and peaceful tranquillity, the harshness of the extreme weather and the sought for adventure and solitude playing out with such intensity in her performance; it is nothing short of beguiling and thoughtful. This though should not come as a surprise, the evidence was already there in the film The Fault In Our Stars, the feeling of purpose, of bringing a memorable, perhaps even broken character to life, rages fully in her ethic as an actor.

It is only fitting then that she would take the real-life heroism of Tami Oldham to its extreme, and alongside the ever-gracious Sam Claflin, makes this a memorable film that takes the audience to the edge of despair and loneliness in an ocean that swallows them whole, and takes them to the heights of human resilience, of understanding just that little bit more the nature of humanity’s desire to survive.

Adrift might not be the first film that an audience would head for, especially in the current climate of wall to superhero and graphic book crusaders fighting it out to be the most durable of cinema box office hits, however for heroism we should look closer to home, to those that endure the elements and loss and come out on the other side perhaps more in tune with nature, with their own soul.

An incredible tale of courage brought to cinema in the best way possible, two endearing leads, a captivating story, and the knowledge that nature can never quite tame the serenity of romance.

Ian D. Hall