Drift (2013)

Waste of time

How sad is this?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Big surf, cool 70's vibe. Give this movie a chance, make popcorn and have a beer. Excellent surf photography, beautiful, rough coastline of Australia. You will enjoy this film if you remember the big boards and OP board shorts. Goes slow but gets better just like the waves!. There are great scenes where old style cameras and wetsuits are used. The actors are good, you will recognize one of the actors from the film 'Clash of the Titans'! The plot could use some help but the feel of the film is very hippie style. There is a few drug scenes but they didn't mess that up too bad. The surfing is definitely the best. Real pros in every scene with old boards used for the film to keep it true to the time. Enjoy dude!

Drift (2013)Drift is an Australian film based loosely on true events of two brothers during the 1970s and the birth and rise of the surf industry in Western Australia. Determined to escape a life of factory work and petty crime, Andy (Myles Pollard) and his wayward surf prodigy younger brother Jimmy (Xavier Samuel) decide to start their own surfing brand called 'Drift', which produces custom wetsuits and new shorter surfboards. Initially the business creates some excitement amongst the local surfing community, but the challenges of living in a conservative town begin to hinder their growth. They must overcome pressure from the local police, banks and even a gang of drug dealing bikers. It's surprising to also see 'Avatar' and 'Terminator: Salvation' star, Sam Worthington play a hippy drifter in a supporting role, who is supposed to represent the era's anti-establishment vibe. A lot of people are reluctant to watch Australian films as they are viewed by many as cheap and 'crap'. I had a similar view many years ago, but if you actually give them a chance, you will be surprised how many quality films have been made and don't receive the attention they deserve. Australia has produced an abundance of surfing movies and documentaries over the years, with its rich culture and history in contributing to the industry. This is the first time that I am aware of a movie focusing on the involvement in Western Australia however, as the attention is usually targeted along the east coast. This was a really pleasant surprise for me and has left me thinking about it for days after. Not that it was a mind blowing film, or one of the best Australian films made. Far from it. I just felt it was the perfect 'Aussie' film, compared to Baz Luhrmann's big budget flop 'Australia', which gave such a forced representation of the stereotypical Australian outback. Very different films I know, but this just seemed so real and authentic in contrast. Once again I hope I haven't hyped this up too much, but having entered into it with such little expectations, I really enjoyed it. Some of it is still pretty cheesy and the acting is a mixed bag. I thought the soundtrack was a standout featuring so many local bands, complementing the themes of the film. Considering the small budget the cinematography and camera work was superb. My Rating: 6.5/10For more Movie and TV News, Reviews and Rumours go to: www.facebook.com/tvmovienews

As far as the sports genre is concerned, those featuring surfing are about as niche as you go. Only 12 films have ever grossed more than $1 million at the domestic box office let alone found any measure of breakout success. Those that did find some semblance of an audience, like Soul Surfer and Point Break, had the added aid of family appeal and incorporating a heist element respectively, but for the most part they land with a whisper – not anything like the thundering, mammoth waves these daredevils tackle.But in spite of this subgenre's lack of mainstream appeal there is one thing they – and Australian import Drift – prove, and that is surfing looks damn cool, especially when presented so slickly and in such a high energy fashion. So it's a shame in the case of this period drama (which transports us back to the early years of the sport in the land down under) that the wet and wild sequences trump anything transpiring on dry land and that most of the human drama relies on unnecessary plot turns and the usual formula that accompanies almost all sport based fare.Drift follows two brothers Jimmy (Xavier Samuel) and Andy Kelly (Myles Pollard) and their mother who reside in a small seaside town following a late night escape from their abusive father/husband. Already carrying a passion for surfing, the two grow with the hobby and view their actual jobs as mostly inconveniences. It's one day when their mother's seamstress occupation produces a homemade wetsuit that gives Andy the idea of marrying passion with profession and they endeavour to open their own surf shop with customized gear and boards. But of course, nothing is as easy as it seems as money, gangsters, the allures of the hippy age and rivalries all act as roadblocks to a newfound dream.Things are kicked off even further by the arrival of a duo of righteous surfers played by a tubular Sam Worthington and his plutonic companion Lani, played by Spartacus: Blood and Sand's Lesley-Ann Brandt. So with this rag tag gang assembled they seek to revolutionize how surfers view the gear they use: surf attire made by surfers, not made by "the man" and promoted by models who have never hit the waves a day in their life. The premise, retro feel and fine performers make Drift seem like the right idea of how to approach this sport – using it as a backdrop to a family drama and a struggle for the little guy (with some awesome surf sequences tossed in for good measure).While this is the case some of the time, Drift invests in too many unnecessary plot threads, including one about some thugs who for some reason have an issue with the Kellys, which eventually involves into an all out war as one of their own gets mixed up in the drug trade. With the Kellys already struggling with a mortgage, their start-up business and the trials of growing together, this added kink proves to be nothing more than a distraction (and is furthermore concluded in a laughably stunted fashion). There is also a bizarre storyline involving a completely underdeveloped, inexplicably evil banker trying to steal the Kellys farm, er, house which adds nothing but a cartoonish villain that makes Mr. Potter look chipper.Worthington's character JB is also a bit of a perplexing entity, though the Aussie native's performance is certainly among the most natural he's ever given. His tippy motif is fine enough, never becoming to philosophic and grating, but his ideals seem completely jumbled. One moment he's stating (regarding the Kelly's plan to make their own surf line) that you can't beat the man by becoming the man and at another instance saying that you can't always fight and should sometimes just resign to what is. Additionally scenes of him using his passion for photography and filmmaking to help make these brothers distinct in the industry go nowhere until the very end, deviating from the main story for what become perfunctory attempts to add substance.Then we arrive at the climax, which of course involves a local surf competition, the winnings from which could save the family farm, er, house and get those gangsters off their back. Again, while impressively staged (and not concluded in the most ridiculous way possible) it collectively doesn't get much more clichéd than that, and when you lump in the montages and other corny moments it truly softens the experience.Not content on just examining an interesting moment in history, Drift piles on dramatic excess and contrived turns which are muted to some effect only by universally strong work from the cast and, again, those gripping surf sequences. So while certainly not boring and far from offensively bad, Drift isn't compelling enough to warrant anything other than a rental, and definitely not enough to spur any sort of revolution for the surf drama.

Wow! Volunteered for CinefestOz and ended up being able to stay and watch the movie premiere! The opening scene creates an unexpected tension with the mother and the young brothers heading off in darkness. They drive and drive and end up at overlooking what appears to be the Margaret River beach and its seems like their fate lies in the region. It not easy fitting into a tight knit community and the boys find it difficult though they find do find a friend who's pretty good at fixing up boards. Cut to years later, with surfing still a big part in the life of the Kelly brothers, though Andy now works at the mill while younger brother Jimmy gets in with the wrong crowd. Poor Mum spends lots of time drinking tea or coffee at the sewing machine! JB is a surf photographer who drifts into the area and sets up camp overlooking the spectacular coastline. He is accompanied by Lani who both the boys begin to fall for. The movie coasts along at a slow pace mixing awesome surf photography interspersed with the drama unfolding to the final surf competition and showdown with the baddies, bank and promoter, and coming back to the beginning of the story when Jimmy saves Andy from drowning but the roles are reversed. The scenery in the film is breath taking and showcases the Margaret River region, including Augusta, Bunker Bay and Yallingup as places with pristine ocean and natural beauty. Like Red Dog, this will be an iconic Australian movie, honoring mates sharing waves, and the sentimental Aussie battler. From the speeches at the premiere, it is like a dream to the directors who have created something they are obviously stoked and proud of.