The indie drama Drift is set on a Greek isle, a glorious, carefree tourist destination. Jacqueline (Cynthia Erivo) is Liberian, and living rough, sleeping in hidden locations for safety and to avoid immigration authorities; she’s surviving by dumpster diving for food and selling foot massages on the beach.
There are other Sub-Saharan Africans in the island’s informal economy, mostly men selling blanket loads of souvenir trinkets. Jacqueline minimizes her contact with them, too. It becomes apparent that those guys have reached Greece to escape poverty, but that Jacqueline’s story is different.
Callie (Alia Shawkat) is an American tour guide who shows historic ruins to visitors who have come to the island for sunny beaches, not out of any cultural interest or intellectual curiosity. At one of those sites, Callie meets Jacqueline, who pretends to be an affluent tourist, and because Jacqueline is educated, urbane and cosmopolitan, Callie buys her story.
Eventually, we learn from flashbacks that Jacqueline is from a family in Liberia’s privileged elite, a family suddenly torn from its comfortable station by unspeakable horrors. Barely escaping with her life, Jacqueline profoundly traumatized by the violence and the sudden losses. and experiences PTSD reactions to fireworks and to unruly crowds .
Callie spots Jacqueline scrounging on the beach and realizes that her cover story is false. But Jacqueline, feeling vulnerable and embarrassed by circumstance, persists in her pose.
It’s clear to us that a friendship with Callie would give Jacqueline the support that she needs, but Jacqueline’s PTSD is in the way. When can she accept even a hug?
Erivo’s performance as Jacqueline is spot on. Erivo is a Broadway musical actress/singer, and stars in the Wicked franchise. In Harriet, Erivo played Harriet Tubman with convincing intensity. Erivo was absolutely the best thing about the Steve McQueen film Widows; since her character teamed with those played by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki, the fact that she stole the movie is impressive.
As we expect, Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) is excellent, too.
Drift is the third feature for director Anthony Chen. Chen unspools the back story effectively, and it’s a well-crafted and especially well-acted little film.
I screened Drift for the Nashville Film Festival. It opens this weekend at the Monica Film Center and will roll out more widely.