Tom Hanks makes desert island survival not that difficult in Cast Away, and it’s one of the more differentiating dramas I’ve seen in a while.
Chuck Noland (Hanks) is an overworked but work obsessed Fed Ex man. He’s in a relationship with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt). They want to get married, but his busy work schedule always interferes with that. One day, after a Christmas party, Noland is called out on an emergency to Malaysia. His plane gets caught in a storm and crashes, with Noland the sole survivor. He washes up on a deserted desert island, along with a lot of Fed Ex packages. After attempting to escape a couple of times, Noland adjusts to the island and learns to survive on it. He also makes friends with a volley ball whom he names Wilson, and casually has conversations and arguments with him. After four years, Nolan finally escapes and gets rescued, but he finds everything at home quite different from what it once was.
Tom Hanks gives a completely, realistically, incredibly good performance as Nolan. He has troubles on the island at first, but after that he masters the skills needed to survive.
Hanks isn’t really helped out by any of the supporting actors, and he has to carry the show. However, I was surprised but satisfied that it shows the aftermath of the four-year long period on the desert island, where he has been considered dead, a funeral has been held for him, and Kelly has gotten married to his dentist.
At 143 minutes, it’s a tad too long; the story could have unraveled at a slightly lesser timeframe, but on the whole I was pleased by Hanks’ performance and the overall structure of the movie, headed by director Robert Zemeckis.
I was glad to see that Cast Away wasn’t used only as a survival episode, but rather was the story of the biggest event of a man’s life.
**** /5
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