An Exceptional Film

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2014)

What would you do when faced with tragedy? How would you react if you had no human interaction for a year? Would you be able to make it without the amenities that we enjoy every day? Would you go crazy? Would you kill yourself? Cast Away puts you in this situation. We get to peek into a tragedy situation comfortably from home, while Tom Hanks fights for his survival for us.
Our main character, Chuck, is a FedEx manager. He is extremely focused on getting his job done in a timely fashion. His job keeps him very busy due to his trips around the world. The film picks up right before Chuck is about to take another trip. While on the flight, Chuck awakes to turbulence. After a few minutes of struggling the plane crashes into the ocean. Chuck survives by hanging on to a life raft. He eventually loses consciousness and awakes on the shores of a remote island. He quickly finds that there are no other inhabitants of the island and that in order to survive; he is going to be pushed to his limits.
Cast Away explores many themes. Coping with loneliness and isolation is something that is hard to display in film but is shown beautifully throughout this film. The cinematography does an amazing job at getting these themes across. The film features very little dialogue, but you won't even notice it due to the very visually appealing sets. Long shots out towards the ocean and aerial shots of the island get the points across easily. Such a potentially dark premise is given a bit of light with lovable, comic-relief such as Wilson.
It is hard to find a drama that everyone in the family will enjoy equally. Cast Away is no exception. To get the point of the film across darker elements had to enter into the film such as suicide. This isn't the movie that you bring the whole family to, although mature children could handle it and most likely enjoy it. Cast Away receives a 9/10 from me due to the exciting premise and unique way of telling it.