Cast Away (2000)

3 out of 4

Starring: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Lari White, Christopher Noth

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Time: 143 mins

While many people dream of a holiday on a sandy tropical island, imagine being stuck on a deserted one, by yourself, for four years! Yes - four years! Hard to contemplate, isn't it? No creature comforts such as groceries for your food, no hot showers, no toilets, and no TV or other forms of entertainment. Not even a book! Life could get pretty boring pretty fast. Well, that's the predicament that befalls Tom Hanks in Robert Zemeckis' new movie, Cast Away. A huge success in North America since its release last Christmas, the film goes a long way to prove that a big name director and a big name star can just about guarantee good box office. The film is long and contains lengthy stretches where there's little talk or action, but Hanks' tour-de-force performance and a wonderfully emotional third act will have your eyes glued to the screen.

Hanks is Chuck Noland, a Fed Ex executive who lives life by the clock and continually drums that concept into his employees. The love of his life is Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), but so harried is Chuck he even leaves during a Christmas family dinner/get-together to go on assigment in Malaysia. During the flight, the plane loses radio contact during a turbulent storm and crashes into the ocean, with Noland the only survivor. He finds himself washed up on a deserted island, with nothing except a few Fed Ex packages to keep him company. Over the next four years, he survives by living on coconuts, crabs and fish, until a piece of wreckage floating in the sea gives him the idea for a sail boat, and an opportunity to leave the island.

The film begins innocuously enough, with a long tracking shot following the journey of several Fed Ex packages from rural America to Russia. There follows a quick scene detailing the relationship between Hunt and Hanks, before we cut to the plane crash. This sequence is short, sharp, and terrific; there's no need for false crises or extended escapes, as that's not what the film is about. The next hour is Hanks by himself on the island, struggling to survive. While we are caught up in his trials and frustrations, this section doesn't really lend itself to a lot of repeat viewing. Yes, the scenery is beautiful, and Hanks' repeated attempts to, first, crack open a coconut, and second, make a fire, are quite gripping, but elsewhere there's little visual appeal to engage the eyes. There is little dialogue during this island portion, other than Hanks talking to himself or to a pseudo-friend Hanks conjures from an ordinary volleyball (courtesy of one of the lost Fed Ex packages). The best part of the film, however, is the third and final act, after the "Four Years Later" message has come up. There is a lot of emotional investment in these scenes, and the payoff is quite powerful. Whether it be on his makeshift raft trying to break through gigantic waves crashing onto the beach, or his valiant efforts to save his friend the volleyball, we are caught up with Hanks, and secretly cheer him on. The ending offers no easy solutions, but it makes the whole film better for it.

Hanks seems to able to do no wrong, with his list of 90s successes (Toy Story 2, The Green Mile, You've Got Mail, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, and A League Of Their Own, to name a few) continuing to build and build. Here he pretty much carries the whole film, and his performance is very good. The middle portion on the island could be labelled Physical Acting 101, such are the demands made on Hanks' physique. (Production was reportedly halted for a few months while Hanks lost weight for his later scenes, during which time Zemeckis directed What Lies Beneath.) It may not be Hanks' best peformance (that honour, in my opinion, goes to Saving Private Ryan), but the fact he is expanding his range and repertoire with acting challenges like this is impressive in my book. Indeed, it's hard to believe Hanks was once a star of bawdy 80s comedies like Bachelor Party (remember that one?).

The co-stars obviously don't have much screen time. Hunt is effective, if underused. She, like Hanks, is also impressing me more and more. And just like Hanks, it's hard to believe she was once a star of the 80s teenybopper film, Girls Just Want To Have Fun (playing second fiddle, incidentally, to another 90s bloomer, Sarah Jessica Parker, of TV's Sex and the City fame). The other co-stars are adequate but aren't on the screen for much more than a few minutes.

Director Zemeckis also seems to be able to do no wrong, following on from his earlier 2000 box office success, What Lies Beneath. He likes lingering shots, making sure we know what we're watching, and the full import of that vision (the opening tracking shot is not unlike the floating feather at the start of Forrest Gump, or the pullback from the Earth that 1997's Contact commences with). During the middle sequence he effectively eschews the use of music, employing instead the sounds of crashing waves, rainstorms, and nature to convey life on the island. He's fortunate that he has a better script to work with than What Lies Beneath (though that didn't deter its ticket sales), and an actor who can carry his vision. Cast Away may yet match the phenomenal success of Forrest Gump (in a dollar and Academy Awards sense), but even if it doesn't, it is still an emotionally rewarding and original work.

(c) Joe Wong (20 January 2001)