When an unknown man with amnesia (Spader) is washed up on a secluded beach of Northern Ireland, he is taken in by a solitary eccentric spinster (Brochet)and it becomes immediately apparent that she has "control issues." Since he has a broken leg, he's temporarily at her mercy and tries to humor her as she becomes increasingly strange. Brochet plays "Sarah" so well that the viewer soon surmises that beneath her elfin winsomeness lies some dangerous emotional and mental instability which will eventually erupt. She succeeds in seducing the stranger and thereafter regards him as her personal possession. The arguments with her old harpy of a mother are telling. When the couple have a special candlelit dinner commemorating his sexual surrender, she appears wearing a weird lacy gown strongly suggesting the mad Miss Havisham in "Great Expectations." Viewer interest will be maintained until the inevitable tragic result of the man breaking free of the coerced relationship which bears a familiar parallel in reverse to "The Collector."
14 Reviews
Well sung song and a good performance by Anne Brochet
JuguAbraham8 August 2001
This movie gives a good idea of the state of Irish cinema today. Anne Brochet gave an interesting performance with a very French accent--one of the annoying factors in a film set in Ireland. One can understand if the castaway had a French accent but not a character who is supposed to be a denizen of Ireland. James Spader gives an uninspired performance.
The minor roles were were well played.
The most uplifting part of the film was the song at the end which was better than the rest of the film.
The minor roles were were well played.
The most uplifting part of the film was the song at the end which was better than the rest of the film.
Loneliness, Insanity and Obsession
claudio_carvalho21 January 2016
In Ireland, the lonely artist Sarah (Anne Brochet) finds an unconscious castaway (James Spader) drowned at the beach with a broken leg. She brings him home and treats him. When he awakens, he has amnesia and can not remember who he is or what has happened to him. Sarah tells that they are isolated in an island and a boat will arrive with supplies only a couple of months later. However they are indeed in the continent but Sarah hides the location from the man. Along the days, she feels obsessed by him and she seduces him and they have a love affair. When he feels better, he decides to snoop around trying to leave the island. But the deranged Sarah will do anything to keep him with her.
"Driftwood" is a suspenseful romance with a story of loneliness, insanity and obsession. The plot uses parts of the storyline of "Misery" and other films of attraction. Anne Brochet gives a great performance and has a great chemistry with James Spader. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Prisioneiro da Ilha" ("Prisoner of the Island")
"Driftwood" is a suspenseful romance with a story of loneliness, insanity and obsession. The plot uses parts of the storyline of "Misery" and other films of attraction. Anne Brochet gives a great performance and has a great chemistry with James Spader. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Prisioneiro da Ilha" ("Prisoner of the Island")
If you have ever feared being consumed by a relationship ...
Ed-26912 March 2000
Anne Brochet and James Spader give excellent performances. Though the storyline is not particularly orignial I found both to be very believable characters. (Anne Brochet, hauntingly so) The plot is a more likely, and subtle, variation on the "Fatal Attraction" theme. Unlike Glen Close's character in Fatal Attraction Sarah (Brochet) is a very likable and attractive woman ... well, except for a little problem with "abandonment issues". <smile> The power of the conflict this movie generates is tied to Spader's (and the viewers) empathy for Sarah. I would highly recommend this movie for those viewers that tend to like "character driven" movies.
Entertaining movie, only a few flaws
Daryl-725 December 1999
We enjoyed this movie quite a lot. Anne Brochet's character, Sarah, was a spinster, a psycho, yet quite erotic. James Spader is always good, and he did a great job going from confused to falling in love to fearing for his life.
There were a couple of strange problems that ruined things for us a little, though. The story was set in the islands off Ireland, yet Anne Brochet did not try to hide her strong French accent. I don't remember an explanation of her being French. Her mother appeared as a ghost, and her mother had an English accent. Huh???
The sex scenes were great, Anne Brochet has a fantastic body. We didn't think they were overdone or gratuitous.
Overall, it was a great movie. Intriguing and a nice look inside the mind of a strange, isolated person. Was the plot predictable? Yes. But that's okay sometimes.
There were a couple of strange problems that ruined things for us a little, though. The story was set in the islands off Ireland, yet Anne Brochet did not try to hide her strong French accent. I don't remember an explanation of her being French. Her mother appeared as a ghost, and her mother had an English accent. Huh???
The sex scenes were great, Anne Brochet has a fantastic body. We didn't think they were overdone or gratuitous.
Overall, it was a great movie. Intriguing and a nice look inside the mind of a strange, isolated person. Was the plot predictable? Yes. But that's okay sometimes.
Misery, Fatal Attraction and Lady Chatterley's Lover reloaded
Saoul5 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Boring would be complimentary. This movie lacks everything, no drama, no passion, no nothing... It's a mixture of somebody else's ideas (the broken leg? Flowers in the bed while he's asleep? Trying to break his leg again? The man being kept in a bedroom... Her discomforting passion/obsession towards him! Come on!). The soundtrack is even worse than the plot itself. I really don't see the point in having some oh-so-romantic strings highlighting the sentence: "I made apple pie!" Really, don't waste your time watching it. It's absolutely not worth it.
Useless.
Boring would be complimentary. This movie lacks everything, no drama, no passion, no nothing... It's a mixture of somebody else's ideas (the broken leg? Flowers in the bed while he's asleep? Trying to break his leg again? The man being kept in a bedroom... Her discomforting passion/obsession towards him! Come on!). The soundtrack is even worse than the plot itself. I really don't see the point in having some oh-so-romantic strings highlighting the sentence: "I made apple pie!" Really, don't waste your time watching it. It's absolutely not worth it.
Useless.
My favorite movie of all time...a woman's movie from our POV
blindbiz17 February 2001
DRIFTWOOD is an outstanding movie focusing on a woman's point of view about men, sex and having a "fantasy man" as a captive in every sense of the word. The acting is superb...James Spader is very believable as an injured sailor rescued by a lonely artist who, unfortunately, is quite mad. Women will appreciate how the camera focuses on the beauty of a man's body and sexual pleasures from a woman's perspective (refreshing!!). The actress playing "Sarah" is absolutely wonderful in a difficult, demanding character study of a woman tormented by the ghosts of her past who seeks only to find love---no matter what it takes. This film is sure to become an "art film" favorite, especially among women who have always dreamed of having a beautiful lover on a remote island, albeit with a different outcome. Enjoy...
Anne Brochet is deceptively cute.
Farleyed8 May 1999
You don't really notice it at first, but Anne Brochet is deceptively cute. Intitially she seems almost plain, then you get a crush on her and think it is your own special crush. Then you realize she was Roxanne in Cyrano with Depardieau. Anyway, this is an interesting little movie about obsession and deception and Spader is interesting, even when doing mundane things.
nothing special. nice idea though
Jonathan-1815 February 1999
It's a movie about a woman who finds a man on a seashore next to her home. She is a sculptor, she takes him in, he doesn't remember his name, she tells him they're alone on the island. To us it's obvious she's lying, and a matter of time that they will end up in bed and he'll find out she's lying. Not boring, just not very interesting. And her talking to her deceased mother is really redundant. The ending is SO annoying and foreseen. Probably a nice story, bad movie though.
Elegantly Simple
hawker-229 April 1999
More a 3 act play than a feature film, the story is concise and honest. Once we realize Sarah is lying about the seclusion of her 'island,' and see a few too many appearances of her dead mother, it becomes apparent where the story is heading. Sarah's loneliness and desire to keep "The Man" with her makes her a sympathetic villain by the end. It's not the most original premise, but it delivers the goods with a refreshing truthfulness and simplicity.
Observations of someone who liked the movie.
Zaxx-217 June 1999
I liked this movie.
The acting was good and the story believable.
The woman had a morbid fear of abandonment and intended to keep the man at all costs.
The man's amnesia, though never explained, was credible, and so was his desire to leave.
Their sexual relationship was understandable and probably inevitable.
The story unfolded naturally, and I cared about the characters. I was never bored and never felt that the action was too slow. It held my interest.
I found the epilogue believable, ironic, likely, and haunting.
The acting was good and the story believable.
The woman had a morbid fear of abandonment and intended to keep the man at all costs.
The man's amnesia, though never explained, was credible, and so was his desire to leave.
Their sexual relationship was understandable and probably inevitable.
The story unfolded naturally, and I cared about the characters. I was never bored and never felt that the action was too slow. It held my interest.
I found the epilogue believable, ironic, likely, and haunting.
A lovely and simple movie
Juliet Gabriella Kaleigh18 June 1999
I thought that this movie was lovely, it had a great plot and the actors did their jobs well. I don't think that this was a slow movie. I would suggest that any human watch Driftwood if they want to see a beautiful yet tragic film.
A poor man's "psycho" .
dbdumonteil3 December 2002
Do not bother with that!Poor acting(particularly Spader),poor directing,poor cinematography with no sense of space at all.Nudity scenes do not make up for the paucity of the screenplay.The mother trick ,which Alfred HItchcock (and Robert Bloch )invented ,has been used so many times only a very naive viewer will be intrigued.Even the murder recalls "Psycho".Absolutely nothing redeems that.Stay away.
Good plot, but twisted story line
Rio-729 March 1999
I really think that this movie might have been classified as one of James Spader's great movies if the story line wasn't so screwed up and half the movie wasn't based on sex alone. The movie concerns a lonely French girl who finds a shipwrecked sailor and tries to keep him for herself. The movie would be believable except it's quite impossible for 2 people to jump into bed and suddenly be in love with each other. I think the movie itself was quite good, cast well and filmed well with attention paid more to acting than material detail. Get rid of the mentally disturbed and the distasteful sex and you've got a great movie.
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