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Cast Away 2000 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
PG-13, 144 min. (intense images, action sequences) |
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Starring: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Christopher Noth, Nick Searcy, Lari White
Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks, J. Rapke, S. Starkey
Screenplay: William Broyles Jr.
Cinematography: Don Burgess
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Released: 12.22.00 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
It would be easy to dismiss this film as another "deserted on a small island and can't get off" type
of picture, but that would be a big mistake. In a truly stunning display of acting ability, Tom Hanks
makes you feel like you are really there with him on that lonely island. There is always one thing or
idea that helps someone get through an ordeal such as this, and Chuck Noland's (Hanks) is the memory of
his girlfiend Kelly (Helen Hunt).
Noland is a FedEx worker who makes one fateful trip across the Pacific on a plane that crashes into
the sea. The visual effects of this scene is eerie as it is very dark and hard to see what is happening;
something that is realistic if you are in the middle of the ocean at night during a rainstorm. It is
also claustophobic, as we see the crash through Noland's eyes and his escape from the plane that is now
sinking in the ocean. But
Noland survives (he is the only survivor) and washes up on a small island that would now be his home
for the next four years. His transformation from a helpless civilian to a strong, independent man is no
easy feat to pull off. Tom Hanks is one of the few actors in Hollywood that can do it, and he does it to
near perfection. He had to lose 50 pounds for the role, as someone living on an island for several years
would obviously lose a lot of weight. His performance is so good that I can't see how anyone else
could win best actor this year.
The film basically has three parts, the second being the time on the island. During this period, Hanks
rarely says a word, meaning that only facial expressions and body language can tell us what he is thinking
and feeling. That is very hard to do successfully, but Hanks does it. The first part of the film is the
set-up, which includes his close relationship with his girlfiend Kelly. The final part is the aftermath of
his return to civilization, which has sad revelations. Nolan finds his girlfriend has married and has a
child, albeit after a very hard decision to give Nolan up, and now must confront her one last time to close
that chapter in his life. This is what propels the movie into the classic category of films. You can literally
feel the emotional devastation between the two as they realize what would have been their lives together.
But they also know that they can't undue the past, meaning Nolan would have to move on without her.
The ending is representative of the entire movie, as Hanks looks in different directions at a
crossroads in the middle of nowhere. One of those directions has been closed, and now he has a few more to
choose from, and in that we feel both the sadness and happiness that Nolan now has the courage and ability
to make that choice. And that's the point of the film, that you can have the courage to make that decision
if you believe in yourself enough to try. This is one of the year's best films.
© 2000 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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