Director Baltasar Kormakur has added suspense to his new movie Adrift by including shots designed to make audiences fearful of a shark attack.
The Icelandic director’s film tells the real-life story of Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp, two lovers who find themselves adrift in the Pacific Ocean after their sailing boat is struck by a hurricane.
Kormakur, who was once a competitive sailor himself, was determined to stay true to the story, but included shots that implied Tami and Richard might be attacked to recreate the fear of being out in the open ocean.
“Throwing a shark into the story, for example, would have no integrity because there wasn’t a shark in the story,” he said at a Q&A following a screening of the film in London. “Making you feel like there might be a shark around, is still in the framework for me, because that’s what you feel when you get in the ocean – what is underneath you?”
The film stars Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin as the main characters, and the real-life Tami visited the set to check on cast and crew. At one point, she even burst into tears as Claflin’s portrayal of Richard, as he was so convincing.
“She says I embodied him in a way I didn’t realise I could,” the actor explained. “And all have said there are a lot of similarities. All I wanted to do was embody an essence of him, and knowing that we did that, and we had her blessing and that she was there and thought we were doing a good job.”
The 32-year-old added that portraying Richard and Tami’s relationship was made easier by his friendship with Woodley.
“When you genuinely care for someone, and I did for Shailene, it’s hard not to get to know them – you’re forced to as you’re on top of each other for three months,” he said. “You have to like them – but wasn’t hard to care for her, and it wasn’t hard to cry or feel when she was crying. I find it easy to pretend to be in love with someone who is easily lovable.”
