Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

neebanne Enjoyed the film very much. The three main characters each have issues to deal with and are a bit trapped in themselves. The young man is so inhibited, you can practically feel the pressure in him about to explode. The old man is facing new horizons and is afraid of what that will bring. And the doctor is consumed with grief. The way the movie threads the lives of these 3 ordinary characters is done beautifully. Without knowing each characters intentions we see how our actions, great or small, affect others. My only complaint is it took a while to figure out what problem the Doctor was having, and there was not much information provided as to how the child died. As to the old man, the scene where he is drawing is incredible. His story unfolds quickly and the woman he works with does a great job in reaching out to him. The young man is a more complicated story. There is little to go on in trying to figure him out. His mother is overbearing, and a little "too close" to him. Yet, that is about all we can tell, except that he likes to take pictures. His inability to communicate clearly with anyone creates an enormous amount of tension, and the sex scene with him and the Doctor finally breaks down his wall. Beautifully produced. Would recommend. On a purely technical note, I occasionally found the sound track not consistent, and would have to raise and lower the volume on the remote. ( This could be due to my TV or the actual copy that Hulu is transmitting).

the_docteur_lessard Although I usually find interest in interwoven character story lines from films such as Crash or Magnolia or Babel, I couldn't get my interests up for this one.Now I'm not here to complain that the movie lacked explosions, action or a whole lot of plot twists - it doesn't attempt to be that kind of movie. The few plot driven elements are rather scarce and are mostly there to drive forward the characters rather then the story. The story itself is never the planned focus anyhow. It is my appreciation that some attention to have a more involving plot would have done the work a service.In terms of execution (acting, directing) the effort is certainly solid although never really stellar : you won't find anything really worthy of seeing the movie on it's own. The problem therefore is the very blueprint on which the execution rests, and as I pointed earlier, the material given is too dry to make the movie a memorable one.There just isn't enough happening here to make this one worth the look. Nothing much was achieved, and the journey alone wasn't exactly thought provoking nor entertaining. It isn't awful mind you, just very forgettable.

classic8363 I recently had the distinct pleasure of seeing Adrift in Manhattan at the HBO Latino Film Festival in New York. The film made me laugh, almost brought me to tears and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. The character development is unbelievable in this film. Heather Graham, William Baldwin, Dominic Chianese and Victor Rasuk (who I have loved ever since Raising Victor Vargas) all give multi-dimensional performances. Victor's character drew me in; Heather's character kept me guessing. You could tell there was something wrong by the distant/ unhappy look in her eyes. William Baldwin was extremely convincing as a husband trying to reclaim his life. Most impressive of all was Dominic's performance. It truly almost brought me to tears. Oh, this movie also has a VERY STEAMY SEX SCENE!

Alfred Palmer I often get annoyed at movies like this, where you get too many character threads interweaving. These types of films tend to spend too little time on the characters, and thus have to rely on superficial plot twists and clichéd conflicts. I put Crash and Babel in these categories. Both enjoyable enough films, but they fail at their core because they focus too much on the events that the characters face, rather than their response to them. Enter "Adrift in Manhattan." The ambition here is less than a Crash or Babel -- it's not trying to explain the modern angst of society or draw global interconnectedness links -- but rather to simply explore the lives of a small group of characters in a one city whose lives happen to intersect. As a result, we get to really know them, see what's driving them (shockingly, through their acting and the filming, and not uninteresting plot twists -- most of the intense events that drive them all took place prior to the film), and then watch how it unfolds. There are no neat plot resolutions. Rather, the characters are left with their lives, but hopefully with a more evolved sense of where they fit in it, and how to take control of it. For me, this is great storytelling and a perfect kind of character-based film. In addition, nearly all of the performances are exceptional. Heather Graham seems to have pushed herself in a completely different direction from her typical fare. Anyone who thought she was just fit for light-hearted role (and I include myself in that group) is in for a remarkable surprise. Her character is grieving heavily, but Graham never overdoes it. Instead, she lets the grief speak for itself, and the result is undeniably moving. Ditto for a handful of moments that are truly hysterical. It's a revelation to see her play a comedic moment in a drama without laying it on. Similarly Victor Rasuk is exceptional, particularly given the dearth of actual lines he has. His eyes, his posture, and his hesitancy give his character the depth that it needs. He's a completely different character from the one we saw in Raising Victor Vargas. Withdrawn, shy, insecure... and yet, his camera convincingly and effectively draws him out of that. And perhaps the sweetest storyline is that of Dominic Chianese and Elizabeth Pena, whose tentative romance is one of the most tender I've ever seen on film.This movie is an honest 10. Everything in it is earned. The script is very strong, and not overpowering or contrived at any point. The cinematography is beautiful, and really catches the flavor of a real and gritty Manhattan. And finally the direction is superb. Given the tightness of the script, the movie has to rely on shooting to really show us the characters and what they are feeling. And it does so exceptionally. I recommend it unequivocally to anyone who enjoys a very well crafted character-based drama.