Swept Away (2002)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
The story
Amber Leighton, a wealthy and spoiled socialite, joins a private cruise from Greece to Italy with her millionaire husband, Tony. During the voyage, Amber develops an intense dislike for Giuseppe, a deckhand, whom she insults mercilessly. Despite Giuseppe's warnings about an approaching storm, Amber insists on taking a dinghy out for a lark. After a series of mishaps and running out of gas, Amber damages the dinghy, and the two are washed ashore on a deserted island, where they must navigate survival alone.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Amber Leighton, a wealthy socialite, joins a private cruise from Greece to Italy with her husband Tony. She treats a deckhand named Giuseppe with open contempt until a storm causes them to crash and wash ashore on a deserted island. On the island, the power dynamic shifts; Giuseppe's survival skills make him dominant, while Amber becomes submissive, and the two eventually become intimate. Amber finds herself happy and eventually tries to hide when she sees a boat, wanting to stay with Giuseppe. They are eventually rescued and return to their old lives. Giuseppe tries to reach out to rekindle their romance, but his letters are intercepted by Tony, who ensures Amber never sees them again, leaving Giuseppe despondent.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom; Italy
- Original languages
- English; Greek; Italian
- Directors
- Guy Ritchie
- Writers
- Guy Ritchie · writer
- Cast and characters
- Madonna · Amber Leighton; Adriano Giannini · Giuseppe Esposito; Bruce Greenwood · Tony Leighton; Jeanne Tripplehorn · Marina; Elizabeth Banks · Debi; Michael Beattie · Todd; David Thornton · Michael
- Genres
- adventure; romantic comedy; drama
- Themes
- class dynamics; survival; power reversal; romance
- Tone and mood
- romantic; comedic; negative
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; castaways; socialite; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- Lina Wertmüller's 1974 Italian film of the same name
- Reception
- The film was a commercial failure and received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, who panned Madonna's performance and Guy Ritchie's direction. It is considered inferior to the original and has been regarded as one of the worst films ever made.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 18 · scale: 100 · review count: 27
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Picture · 2002 · win; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Remake or Sequel · 2002 · win; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst Picture · 2002 · win; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst Actress · 2002 · win; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst On-Screen Couple · 2002 · win
- Production trivia
- The film's working title was Love, Sex, Drugs and Money.; The film was shot in Sardinia and Malta.; Adriano Giannini played the role originally held by his father, Giancarlo Giannini, in the 1974 original.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…