Drift is a 2013 Australian film about the birth of the surf industry in the 1970s. It was shot in Western Australia and co-directed by Morgan O'Neill and Ben Nott and starring Sam Worthington, Xavier Samuel and Myles Pollard.
Plot
Set in a remote town on Australia's spectacular and rugged coastline in the early '70s, Drift tells the story of two brothers at the genesis of the modern surf industry. Determined to escape a life of factory work and petty crime, headstrong older brother Andy and his wayward surf prodigy younger brother Jimmy form a volatile alliance. With their seamstress mother Kat they fashion custom-made Drift wetsuits and new shorter surfboards out of their back yard garage. Their fledgling business generates a powerful buzz amongst the hard-core local surfers, but the brothers’ progressive ideas are soon at odds with their conservative town and find themselves embroiled in a violent feud with a drug-dealing biker gang looking to manipulate Drift's early success. Enter JB, an infamous surf filmmaker and Lani, his gorgeous Hawaiian companion who drift into town just as the brothers' business and troubles begin to escalate. The travellers embody the era's anti-establishment vibe and are skeptical, but soon realize if the brothers can survive and stay true to their surfing roots, they might be part of something greater than they ever imagined. Based on true stories from the era, Drift is the action filled story of a complex family of outsiders who struggle to escape their troubled past to forge a successful future…stumbling upon the worldwide multibillion-dollar cultural movement we know today.
Tim Duffy wrote an early script in 2007. Myles Pollard became attached as actor and producer and asked Sam Worthington, with whom he had attended Drama School, to star. Worthington expressed interest but at the time was unable to commit given his international film schedule. Morgan O'Neill wrote the screenplay and came on board as co-director with Ben Nott. Worthington became available and agreed to play a support role and funding was obtained from Screen Australia, Screen West, Screen NSW, Tourism WA and Fulcrum Media Finance. Shooting took 31 days in August–September 2011 in south west Western Australia.
Box office
The film was released in Australia in early 2013. On its opening weekend it earned $268,570 at the box office making an average of $1,918 across 140 screens. Still playing in Australian cinemas in its twelfth week of release, it's currently grossed over $938,000.
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 32% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 4.65/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Australian critical response was positive:
