[Screen It]

 

"SWEPT AWAY"
(2002) (Madonna, Adriano Giannini) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Heavy Minor Extreme *Mild Minor
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None None None Extreme
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Heavy Minor Moderate Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: A condescending and demanding socialite finds her life turned upside down when she ends up stuck on an abandoned island with a fisherman who can't stand her due to the way she's treated him.
PLOT:
Amber (MADONNA) and Anthony Leighton (BRUCE GREENWOOD) are a filthy rich couple who've chartered a boat, along with their friends Debi (ELIZABETH BANKS), Mike (DAVID THORNTON), Marina (JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN) and Todd (MICHAEL BEATTIE), from Greece to Italy.

All see the boat's crew as below them, but none more so than Amber whose demanding and condescending nature is driving fisherman Giuseppe (ADRIANO GIANNINI) crazy. The boat's captain tells him to grin and take it, but Giuseppe is beginning to near the end of his rope.

Things change when Amber orders that he ferry her to some nearby caves to meet her friends. He's reluctant to go due to the distance, strong tides and unpredictable weather, but she orders him to do so. Out in the middle of nowhere, their small dinghy's motor stops working and then the two inadvertently partially capsize it.

They eventually spot a remote and uninhabited island where she continues with her condescension toward him. The tables are eventually turned, however, when hunger sets in and she realizes he's going to be the only source of food for her. Noting this, Giuseppe begins ordering her around like a slave, and she angrily and reluctantly goes along with his demands.

Yet, as time passes and she begins to change her demeanor to that of submissiveness, a bond begins to form between them. From that point on, they must decide how they feel about each other and what to do should they get a chance to get off their new island home.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or the film's director (who previously helmed "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"), it doesn't seem very likely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For language and some sexuality/nudity.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • ADRIANO GIANNINI plays a fisherman who puts up with Amber and the others' elitist attitude and poor treatment of him and the rest of the crew. He smokes, uses strong profanity and eventually finds himself stuck on the island with Amber. He then turns domineering on her, physically and mentally abusing her and eventually has sex with her.
  • MADONNA plays a condescending and demanding socialite who smokes, drinks and uses strong profanity. She's also mean and condescending toward Giuseppe, a behavior that later haunts her when she's stuck on an island with him. From that point on, her attitude eventually changes from condescension to forced submission to love. She ends up having sex with him (despite still being married).
  • BRUCE GREENWOOD plays Amber's rich husband who's in the chemical business. He drinks and doesn't stop his wife from treating others poorly.
  • ELIZABETH BANKS plays the rather ditsy blond on the ship.
  • DAVID THORNTON plays another passenger who uses strong profanity and smokes.
  • JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN plays a wealthy woman onboard who uses strong profanity and appears drunk in one scene.
  • MICHAEL BEATTIE plays another rich passenger who smokes.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 32 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while a woman has an affair with the man with whom she's stranded on an island. We briefly see them making out and rolling around (sex is implied) as well as some nonsexual nudity (bare breasts and bare butts). Various women are seen in scanty/revealing attire throughout the film, including some women who sunbathe topless (face down).

    Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, including the rich being condescending toward the working class and a fisherman treating one of those women like a slave (ordering her around, repeatedly striking/hitting her and nearly raping her). That near rape may be disturbing to viewers sensitive to such material.

    Various characters smoke and/or drink (some to the point of being intoxicated) and some drugs are briefly seen. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs during a nighttime thunderstorm at sea scene.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • We see some wine being poured.
  • Amber and the others have wine in front of them at dinner.
  • Tony has a drink, and the captain later has one as well.
  • Marina says her plan is to have a martini, pop a pill and "f*ck my husband. Everyone else does."
  • Amber and the others have drinks in front of them as they play poker.
  • Amber and others have wine with a meal.
  • The ship's chef drinks.
  • The rich passengers have wine with dinner. Later, Amber appears drunk.
  • Marina has wine.
  • The rich passengers have drinks while playing poker. The men then leave (with Mike showing that he has a joint) and the woman stay and down more shots.
  • The captain shows Giuseppe that he found what looks like a small baggie of cocaine and that he wants to use it to go to the moon (get high). He wants to try some, but Giuseppe stops him and then accidentally drops it overboard.
  • We see a montage of the passengers drinking in various scenes, with Marina looking drunk in one (some of the men later look the same way).
  • Marina has a drink.
  • Giuseppe and Amber find an old bottle of booze on the island and then drink from it.
  • A miscellaneous man has wine.
  • Giuseppe tells a ship captain to have another glass of wine.
  • People drink in a bar.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Giuseppe bites off the head of a small, but alive fish and then wants Amber to eat it (she doesn't).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Amber is a spoiled, demanding and condescending socialite who is mean and acts rudely to those she deems below her, including Giuseppe (who she calls "Guido," "Pee-Pee" and "Nature boy"). She does this nonstop until sometime after she becomes stranded on the island.
  • Giuseppe calls the short cook a midget.
  • Giuseppe obviously dislikes the rich clients on the ship and then purposefully abuses Amber both physically and mentally once they're on the island (treating her like a slave, physically hitting her and then nearly seeming ready to rape her). Although it initially seems as if he's doing so just to put her in her place for the way she previously treated him, enough of it happens that he comes off as a misogynistic, domineering sort.
  • Amber cheats on her husband by having sex with Giuseppe.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • For those sensitive to rape issues, the following scene may be disturbing. After some physical fighting, Amber kicks Giuseppe in the back. He then trips her and pulls her pants off. He then gets on top of her and appears ready to rape her (even working on her bikini bottom while between her legs and pinning her arms down), but stops once she agrees (while coerced) to go along with that.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Flare gun: Found in a dinghy.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "I think I'm going to kill the f*cking bitch with a kitchen knife," "F*ck you," "What the f*ck is this?" "You f*cked up," "F*ck it," "F*ck off," "Go f*ck yourself (bitch)," "You f*cking lunatic," "I'd rather f*ck a pig than kiss you, monkey boy," "Bullsh*t," "Stop being such a p*ssy," "Dirty slut," "Pervert," "Shut up, bitch," "Idiot," "Do you have children, or just the mind of a child?" "My ass," "Whore," "You scumbag" and "Pain in the ass."
  • Amber treats Giuseppe with condescension and he later treats her like a slave (kids could imitate their actions, comments and attitudes toward the opposite sex and/or those of other economic classes).
  • We see Giuseppe dump food onto Amber's head and then pick her up and throw her into the sea (but that turns out to be a fantasy).
  • Amber and another woman sunbathe topless (although face down).
  • Giuseppe loudly belches, and Amber later does the same.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 32 "f" words (2 used sexually with another 2 playing off that word), 2 "s" words, 1 slang term using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 3 slang terms for breasts ("t*ts"), 3 asses, 1 hell, 2 uses of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "For God's sakes," "Jesus," "Oh Jesus" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see various shots of Debi in a small bikini that shows her cleavage.
  • We see various views of Amber's cleavage throughout the film, especially once she's on the island in her small bikini.
  • We see Amber, Debi and Marina sunbathing on the ship. The first two are topless, but lying face down, and all are in small bikinis (which several men stare at).
  • Marina says her plan is to have a martini, pop a pill and "f*ck my husband. Everyone else does."
  • Marina shows some cleavage and the camera focuses on her clothed butt as the captain helps her from a small boat to the bigger one (the same happens for Debi).
  • Giuseppe wears a shirt showing a male cartoon cat behind a female one (simulating sex, but nothing explicit is seen).
  • The captain shows Giuseppe that he found what looks like a small baggie of cocaine and that he wants to use it to go to the moon (get high). Giuseppe stops him, with the captain then complaining that he wanted to go to the moon and have an orgy (Giuseppe says that he doesn't want to have an orgy with him).
  • Giuseppe states that he was conceived on the crest of a wave.
  • Giuseppe demands that Amber wash his clothes and thus also removes his shorts and stands nude before her (but we don't see anything explicit). We later see him reclining back with just a small patch of bamboo (or other plant material) covering his crotch.
  • Giuseppe comments on Amber thinking he's looking at her "ass" and then comments on her and others sunbathing while topless and says that he wants to see her "t*ts."
  • After some physical fighting, Amber kicks Giuseppe in the back. He then trips her and pulls her pants off (we see her in her small bikini bottom). He then gets on top of her and appears ready to rape her (even working on her bikini bottom while between her legs and pinning her arms down), but stops once she agrees (while coerced) to go along with that. During that, he lustfully says her loins will burn with desire and other related comments.
  • The next day, the two passionately make out and we see alternating shots of them rolling around on the beach (from a distance and clothed) and a mostly head and shoulders close-up montage of them kissing and caressing in the dark. It's implied that they have sex.
  • We see Amber sleeping in Giuseppe's bed with her arms covering her bare breasts (so we don't see anything explicit).
  • During a montage of them playing charades, Amber makes her clothed bosom look bigger.
  • From a little bit of a distance we see Amber and Giuseppe lying nude on the sand at night (she on her side, he on his stomach). We thus see her bare breasts and side of butt, as well as his bare butt. Moments later and during the same montage, we see her bare butt while she lies in bed.
  • When Giuseppe tells another ship captain that nothing happened between him and Amber, the man asks, "What kind of Sicilian fool are you?"
  • We see Amber in a nightgown.
  • SMOKING
  • Amber smokes around 10 times, while Giuseppe smokes several times (including once with a cigar). Various other characters smoke cigars or cigarettes (including other passengers and crewmembers).
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Amber must decide between her husband and Giuseppe (and she does cheat on the former with the latter).
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Being stranded on an island (and with someone you don't like).
  • Whether Giuseppe is being a chauvinistic misogynist or is just having fun putting Amber in her place by mentally and physically abusing her.
  • The near rape scene that occurs.
  • VIOLENCE
  • We see Giuseppe dump food onto Amber's head and then pick her up and throw her into the sea (but that turns out to be a fantasy).
  • Giuseppe and Amber struggle over a flare gun that then fires into their small boat, partially deflating it.
  • Giuseppe slaps Amber after she throws sand at him and insults him yet another time. After she says that you can't hit a woman, he slaps her again.
  • Giuseppe slaps Amber again.
  • Giuseppe kicks Amber over while she's kneeling on her knees and then kicks her to the ground again. He then tries to force her to kiss his hand and grabs the back of her head while doing so. He then pushes her with his foot.
  • Giuseppe kicks her down again. She then throws sand at him and he pulls at her leg and kicks her down again. He then trips her as she tries to run away and then picks her up by her ear. She smacks him and then runs away and he chases her. She kicks him in the leg and then hits him in the crotch and flees. He chases after her and both go tumbling down the sand together. She kicks him in the back, he trips her and then pulls her pants off. He then gets on top of her and appears ready to rape her (even working on her bikini bottom while between her legs and holding her arms down), but stops once she agrees (while coerced) to go along with that.
  • We see that Giuseppe has pushed a man from a bar (who was trying to give him reward money).



  • Reviewed October 8, 2002 / Posted October 11, 2002

    Other new and recent reviews include:

    [Around the World in 80 Days] [Family Camp] [Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]

    Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
    By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

    All Rights Reserved,
    ©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.