A splendid film

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2014)

After a horrific plane crash, Chuck Noland is the only one left alive, marooned on an island with nobody but himself. He is forced to try to adapt to everything around him and conjure up courage he never thought he had. This is the second time I've seen this movie, and it was as good the second time around. This is a real character study that requires patience and your thinking cap to be activated. The slow build serves this movie well, but I'm not sure how much this movie will appeal to casual film goers. For true movie lovers it's a real treat. It's a very a powerful experience, despite being a tad overlong. Watching Chuck be disillusioned for so long, almost the point of going crazy was very gut wrenching to watch. I give credit to the writers and Tom Hanks himself for managing to be so sympathetic. This was a daunting role to portray and Hanks was up to the task. He must have been emotionally and physically exhausted after this movie was over. I have to imagine it was a tough movie to film. Helen Hunt is very solid, despite having limited screen time, she does play a pivotal part. The most cringe inducing moment for me is when Hanks is forced to resort to drastic measures, to get rid of an insufferable toothache. Anyone who's ever suffered from an excruciating toothache will probably look away. There a couple of scenes involving waves from the water that were harsh as well. The ending felt real and not contrived. I'm not gonna lie. This is one of those movies where I wanted a happy ending, simply because this movie is emotionally draining. It was a wise decision, but not exactly an ending I hoped for.
Final Thoughts: What would you do if you were marooned on an island? would you be able to have the intestinal fortitude to not go crazy? I sure as hell wouldn't. Not only is this a triumph of the human spirit, it's great filmmaking. It shows us the stuff we tend to take for granted, such as water and living. It will make you think heavily
9/10