Adrift analysis

Film Analysis – Adrift (2006)

‘Adrift’ is a thriller movie, based on several people being stranded in the middle of the ocean as they forgot to put down the ladder on their boat before jumping into the sea.

The target audience for this film would be people in their late teens and young adults. This is mainly because of the rating of the film, which is a 15, and also because of the themes involved such as violence and death. Thriller movies typically have an older target audience than many other genres as they often cause distress to the audience and cover strong themes. The characters in the movie also reflect the target audience as they are fairly young adults, so the audience can relate to them and feel that what happens to the characters could happen to them.

The structure of ‘Adrift’ appears to be a linear narrative, as the story is shown from beginning to end. I think that this movie has chosen to use this structure as jumping around in time would have made it lose the scary effect, as they want to show the audience how long they are stuck in the sea for. However, ‘flashbacks’ of the woman’s memory are shown in some places, slowly revealing to the audience why the main woman is scared of the sea. This also helped to create tension as the audience are trying to figure out what happened to her, but only find out at the end of the film, during one of the most intense moments to add to the ‘thrill’. This makes the structure non-linear, although the story does show events in the correct order for the majority of the film.

This film, along with many others in the thriller genre, incorporates a certain fear into the movie; in this case, it is a fear of the sea. This creates more tension as it makes the situation scarier when the characters are faced with their fear – the audience may also be able to relate to their fears.

The end section of the movie, where the main character manages to get back on the boat, contains many aspects that are typical of the thriller genre. Mise-en-scene was considered carefully as every aspect of the scene created a tense atmosphere. The scene, as well as the majority of the movie, is set out in the middle of the sea. This shows isolation and lets the audience know that there is no one around to help the characters.

In this scene there is also heavy rain and high waves. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, as they are waiting to see if they survive. The use of the bad weather also makes the situation more pressurised, as the characters only have one chance to get back onto the boat, and their chances of making it are getting lower.

Low-key lighting was used in this scene, which makes it hard for the audience to see exactly what is happening, adding to the tension. A fast editing pace was also used, showing the panic of the character that was trying to get her friend back onto the boat as he was swimming away. The clips changed between real-time and flashbacks of the main characters childhood, revealing more about her fear of the sea. This technique builds up the tension in the scene and lets the audience know that something important to the movie is about to happen.

This film is different to some thriller movies, as the girl manages to get onto the boat and release the ladder for her friend to climb up as well. She also went back into her room on the boat to see her baby who was left on the boat. Having the baby left on board also made the situation more pressurised and gave the movie a higher sense of urgency. After seeing this, the audience assume that the movie will have a happy ending, but this is where the movie is different to others in the thriller genre; soon after this, the girl ends up trying to rescue her friend by jumping back into the water, and the tension is rebuilt. By the end of the movie, all of the adults aboard the boat have died, and the baby is left alone.

In this scene a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used (music and dialogue). The dialogue (diegetic sound) is heard loudly at first but it then fades out, showing the audience what the other character is hearing. The non-diegetic sounds of mainly violins and soft voices are used to show that the characters chances of survival are fading, especially when the girl jumps back into the sea.

Camera angles were also considered in this scene to ensure that the tension was kept high in the audience. When the characters are in the water, the camera is at their head level, showing a point of view shot instead of being above them. This technique worked well for a thriller movie, as it made it seem more realistic and the audience would have felt like they were there themselves. Close up shots were used to show emotion of the characters, such as when the woman manages to get back onto the boat. A close up shot was used here to show her relief of being able to put the ladder down and being out of the sea, so that the audience assumed everything would now be ok. A long shot of the woman’s body was shown as she jumped back into the sea. This showed the vulnerability of the woman, which represented her low chance of survival to the audience. This was also shown in slow motion for a more dramatic effect.

This movie includes codes and conventions that are typical of the thriller genre, such as isolation and a life-threatening situation. It also has a unique selling point, which is that there is a baby left on board whilst they are stranded. This aspect makes the movie realistic, which will increase the thrill factor for audiences, as forgetting to put down the ladder is such a simple mistake that had such big consequences; it is also a fairly easy situation to be in.

Jodi Ferguson.