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Just what I expected

best movie i've ever seen.

A Masterpiece!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This movie is a pleasant surprise that returns faith in American movie, the faith that has been suffering for a long while, recovering just rarely by Tim Burton's work or movies like "Eternal Sunshine..." We – especially us who live outside USA – have been exposed to so much Hollywood vain, shallow, plastic movies in range from superhero action violence and funless teen comedies to the worst movie blasphemies - remakes, that we use to forget that there are small movies untouched by Hollywood lethal sauce. Even masterpieces like Big Fish, Edward Scissorhand, Chocolate, Green Mile (or already mentioned Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind) have a clear Hollywood sign, and after all those Rambos and American Pies, comics based blockbusters and remakes of French movies (what is additionally ironic because average American movie consumer would rather see a rattlesnake on the floor than French movie on the screen) this touch of Hollywood became odious, what is a tragic decline for this old temple of movies... just few decades ago the touch of Hollywood style was the best praise a movie could be given.Adrift in Manhattan is more European style than any American movie I've seen for a long while; even more, it is more European style than many European movies made in last two decades. Too many European movie makers make movies to fit into Hollywood standards, hoping it will sell better; now, American authors teach Europe a lesson how good a movie can exist without Hollywood sugar, false glamour and forced tears.The basic thing that connects main characters in the movie is loneliness. Though set on Manhattan we don't get the feeling that the big city is the prime suspect for their loneliness, they would probably be lonely everywhere on Earth. Not only that, but somehow New York eases their pain and helps them find each other, find them the way to tomorrow. And this is one of those things that are so often in Europe, a kind of love stories between director and his city, an ode and praise to it, something that American authors so rarely give us.The second feeling mutual to the characters (besides loneliness) is guilt. They all carry a burden of old mistakes on their conscience – even if they aren't really guilty (from our point of view). And their loneliness grows not only because this burden presses them too hard, not only because they are ashamed, but mostly because they are afraid to share it with anybody. And only learning to open their souls to another person – whoever it may be, the more unknown stranger the easier it can be done – can give them hope, a chance for redemption and leaving this guilt behind them. Sharing a burden reduces the pressure. And as we follow these people, we will see how some relations terminate because of total loss of communication, while others appear and develop once the shell softens.There are no breathtaking performances in the movie, but all the actors made a good job. Personally, I find Dominic Chianese a bit above the others, but it was a most interesting character so the role offered more chances, more challenges. The unobtrusive music was well aligned to beautiful photography, camera loved both the actors and the city.This movie gave us a picture of some other New York than we usually see, and a completely different picture of American movies than we are used to watch.

I know what this movie wanted to be. It wanted to be an ensemble movie of people facing traumatic cornerstones in their lives and overcoming, with the usual connection of characters such as movies likes Crash, 20 Bucks or Short Cuts. A noble gesture and not exactly original but OK. However , the fact of the matter is that besides being slow , this movie did what so many other movies seem they feel they have to do... Go right to seediness. A movie that is supposed to be inspirational, challenging , interacting and about making new friends turns into a flick about glorifying mentally warped individuals. By that I mean the glorification of a stalker. Not only was the stalker glorified but rewarded by cheap role sex as well. From an Oedipus complex stricken young man to an eye specialist , beautiful lady that just lost a toddler to an older, underachieving mail clerk losing his eye sight we have the proponents of a could be good movie. With a supporting cast of a vastly younger coworker, in love with older man and the separated husband of the eye specialist, trying to work things out after tragedy. I rambled enough, just thought the movie had great potential but it failed to deliver.

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!

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.