Drift (Ben Nott, Morgan O'Neill, 2012) Sam Worthington, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Myles Pollard, Xavier Samuel; drama, surfing; Australian premiere Caves House Yalingup WA 21 March 2013; shot WA
Pollard and Samuel as brothers who build a surfboard/surfwear business in the 1970s, with Worthington as their hippie photographer mate.
Zachary Wigon:
Not so much drifting as veering between storylines, Ben Nott and Morgan O'Neill's Drift often feels like a film with narrative ADD. With likable leads (Xavier Samuel and Myles Pollard as brothers Jimmy and Andy Kelly, plus Sam Worthington supporting as a surf-hippie) and gorgeous scenery, it wouldn't have been difficult to make a charmer about a group of guys building a surfboard manufacturing business. Unfortunately, that's the film Drift might have been, not the film it is. Zachary Wigon, Village Voice.
Jeanette Catsoulis:
... this earnestly old-fashioned tale telegraphs its conclusion with every bromidic beat. The New York Times. [I had to look up 'bromidic'. Apparently, it means 'lacking in originality, trite'.]
Walter Addiego:
The film has genial moments, but they're lost in a sea of boilerplate incidents and prefab characters. The San Francisco Chronicle.
Above reviews as cited in IF.
Don Groves:
Alas, the Australian 1970s-set surfing drama starring Myles Pollard, Xavier Samuel and Sam Worthington was a near total wipe-out.' [... although ...] The Italian edition of Vogue gave the film a warm reception, hailing it as an enthralling story that "mixes passion, love and adventure, without falling into nostalgia"; filled with water scenes that are "charming and breathless". Don Groves, 'Drift sinks in Italy', IF.
Garry Gillard | New: 9 August, 2013 | Now: 5 May, 2022