Adrift Parent Guide

A story with a protagonist stranded in the middle of the ocean has always been a tempting challenge for both directors and actors. Some, like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, are able to keep their head above water and the audience engaged, while even seasoned pros like Robert Redford in All Is Lost, metaphorically drowned in the attempt. Now relatively young Shailene Woodley jumps into the deep end in Adrift to see if she can swim with the sharks.

Her character, Tami, is a traveling hippie (a lifestyle Woodley reportedly embraces), who manages to snag occasional jobs while roaming the lonely planet. When she tells the customs guard in Tahiti that she has nowhere to live, no income and no plans, he stamps her passport and welcomes her to the country anyway. Soon after she’s cleaning schooners, has enough money to smoke a joint and meets Mr. Dreamboat, otherwise known as Richard (Sam Claflin).

The couple hits it off with pretty scenes of them jumping into turquoise lagoons, making out on the beach and exploring the world. Tami is the adventurer. Richard is “soft and sensitive, like a woman” (Tami’s words). The bulletin board on Richard’s boat begins to fill with Polaroids of the pair’s escapades. It’s about this time that Richard bumps into an older couple, friends he knows, who have had an unexpected change in plans and ask if he will sail their craft back to San Diego. The offer comes with enough cash to fuel the couple’s wanderlust dreams of sailing the world. Of course, we know a storm’s a brewin’.

Romantic sunsets and sailing lessons are soon replaced with massive waves and high winds (thanks to some very convincing special effects). Richard sends Tami inside the cabin just prior to hitting a huge swell. He is thrown from the ship, she is thrown about the living quarters and they both end up unconscious.

And that’s where this movie, surprisingly, begins. The film uses a non-linear story-telling method that, under the blade of Oscar-winning editor John Gilbert and director Baltasar Kormákur, holds our attention well. Cutting between the “good times” and the disaster helps keep Woodley’s performance from becoming too much of a protracted soliloquy. And, conversely, the shipwrecked scenes also punctuate the mishmash of romantic moments.

Although it includes far less potentially problematic scenes for teens than most PG-13 movies, there are still a few “highwater marks” in all our categories that parents should consider. First, the MPAA ratings used to consider marijuana use an R-rated element. This film adds to an expanding list that appears to indicate weed is no longer justification for the restricted rating. (We assume it’s due to increasingly lax laws in the US.) Woodley displays her breast assets in many scenes, usually under revealing clothing, but also after rain finally ends days of dehydration and she stretches out naked on the deck to take in the water. Finally, Richard’s wounds are seen in vivid detail as they become infected and gangrenous. Tami stiches a huge scar on her forehead as well.

For those not holding a Shailene Woodley fan club membership, you’ll likely come into this movie with low expectations and leave pleasantly surprised. Director Kormákur rightly decided to steer this ship toward harbor after about 90 minutes, preventing this project from going Adrift.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.