Very well done

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2016)

***Possible Spoilers*** Castaway is a movie about loneliness, discovery, and figuring out what is truly important in life. A FedEx employee that works too much ends up having life changing experience when his plane goes down on business trip. The main character of this film is Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), and he spends most of the movie by himself on a deserted island. Because he worked all the time he didn't get to spend much time with the women he loved, Kelly (Helen Hunt). This ends up being one of the main driving forces for Chuck while he is fighting for his survival. Chuck has to dig deep from within and conjure up every survival instinct he can think of to stay alive. Being stranded alone on island can show you what you're really made of, albeit he got lucky he was traveling with FedEx packages that washed up with him. After spending years on this island, the number one driving force for Chuck was his love, Kelly. He wanted to get back to her so badly and that's what kept him fighting.
The sounds in this movie are so wonderful. They make you feel like you are in the mist of whatever is on the screen. You really get the sense once the plane starts to go down. While Chuck is on the inflatable raft you almost feel you are right there with him, getting hammered by waves and the raging storm. When he gets washed up on the island, you get the feeling of emptiness. All you hear are the sounds of the sand beneath his feet and the waves crashing in on the shore. When he yells and you can hear the hollow of the lonely island, you really get the sense of sheer aloneness.
They way this movie is cut together works perfectly. The scenes move seamlessly from one to the next. Even when there are time jump scenes, the editing team does a great job making it work. My favorite editing decision made was that of the rescue scene. I won't give it away but you'll know it when you see it. Overall, I think this film was very well done. They did a great job telling their story, while keeping things interesting. I believe the story they were trying to tell was that you have to dig deep and fight for the ones you love. Just like in Cinderella Man, even when he thinks he can't do it anymore he thinks of his family and it gives him the necessary drive to keep going. This is similar to the determination that Chuck gets when he thinks of Kelly. Even though this movie takes place primarily with one actor, I think the team that worked on this did a great job and in my opinion it was very well done.