FILM CRITIQUE
Cast Away
Review By: Lazarus.Long
Director: Robert Zemekis
Cast: Tom Hanks
Helen Hunt
Nick Seary
Geoffrey Blake
Chris North
Vivika Davis
Valerie Wildman
Rating: PG-13
What do a volleyball named Wilson; an undelivered Federal
Express package,
coconuts, fire, and an antique pocket watch with a fading
picture have in
common? They all co-star in Castaway and serve as
inspiration for Chuck
Nolands (Tom Hanks) survival in this powerful film.
Not prone to predictions, I nonetheless predict another
Oscar for Tom Hanks for
his starring role in Castaway. More startling, will be
The Academys
announcement of a new award category: Best Supporting
Volleyball. Wilson is a
shoe-in.
The spirit and soul of this film are revealed in the
title frame Cast Away
two words. Cast Away explores the limits of human
frustration, despair, and
resilience. No one in todays Screen Actors
Guild could have revealed our own
innermost feelings as well as Tom Hanks (apologies to
Sean Conery and Anthony
Hopkins). Over 70 minutes alone on the screen and there
was not a boring
second, wow!
Chuck Noland, a Federal Express corporate troubleshooter,
is thrown away with
the indifference so often exhibited by fate. He survives
a vividly realistic
plane crash to wash up on a deserted South Pacific
Island, where he exhibits
behaviours that are heroic beyond imagination, and
disturbingly familiar. Four
years later, his return to a civilized world is no less
disturbing or less
heroic.
From the time he learns that his friends wife has
cancer, to the nearly fatal
summoning of his pager, Chucks misgivings about his
life are clear. In a minor
plot development, four years alone in despair seem to
have cleared his mind,
which could be said to be a small price to pay.
Helen Hunt (Kelly Frears), Chucks girl friend,
turns in a command performance
in Castaways imaginatively rich untold story:
Left Behind. As soul mates, it
is no wonder that Chuck and Kelly arrive at the same
inevitable conclusion near
the films end.
In this second pairing of director Robert Zemeckis and
actor Tom Hanks, the
team has delivered another winner. Box office smash,
Forrest Gump, winner of
six Oscars including Best Director and Best Actor, was
their first. I believe
history will repeat.
My final recommendation? See this movie. If you
need to, get a baby sitter and
see it now. See this movie on the big screen.
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