Guy Ferrandis
MOVIE REVIEW
Drift Away (2021)
This is a movie for adults. In America death and suffering are for other people, and humans will go to any length, make any excuse, twist themselves into any knots in order to avoid it. If it’s inescapable, it’s treated with either self-pity or sarcasm, but either method is a refusal to accept it. But “Drift Away” is a French film that knows that suffering is all around and the best way to handle it is to confront it honestly. The French title of the movie, “Albatros,” is after a model ship Laurent (Jérémie Renier) is gifted from his mother. His family have lived on the Normandy coast for generations. Laurent can’t afford his own boat, but his friend Olivier (Alexandre Lefrancois) can, and they often go fishing. Laurent has a partner, Marie (Marie-Julie Maille, the director’s wife, who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-edited the film), who works in the town hall, and together they have a daughter named Lucie, but who everyone calls Poulette (Madeleine Beauvois, the director’s daughter). The movie opens with Laurent proposing marriage, in front of Poulette, on Marie’s birthday; she accepts, but without enthusiasm. She is happy with the status quo, and she would rather their money go for the house they are renovating together.