The Ultimate Survivor

Rating: 8/10 (26 September 2001)

Although "Cast Away" is effectively a 143 minute commercial for Fed Ex, it is nonetheless a good movie. In the midst of the many "reality based" TV shows, Director Robert Zemeckis and star Tom Hanks give us a feeling of what it would really be like to have to survive in the wilderness.
Hanks plays Chuck Noland a troubleshooter for Fed Ex whose plane goes down somewhere over the Pacific Ocean during a raging storm. He somehow survives and washes up on the beach of a deserted island. He is forced to learn how to survive by using the materials and resources that are available to him in this wilderness.
Zemeckis and Hanks through his stunning performance, are able to convey the loneliness and isolation of an everyman in a seemingly hopeless situation. We see the Hanks character grow his hair and beard, lose weight (which he actually did for the film) and form a touching "friendship" with a volleyball onto which he has drawn a face and calls "Wilson", to keep from going mad. He also longs for the girl he left behind (Helen Hunt) by constantly looking at a picture of her in the watch that she had given him.
Hanks is outstanding in the lead role and Hunt does what she can in a limited role. Watch for Chris Noth in small part.
I thought the producers went a little too far though in their Fed-Ex tie-in. I mean, we see Fed-Ex trucks and packages all through the picture and yes, even on the desert island. Oh my god, I think they got me too. How many times have I mentioned "Fed-Ex" in MY comments?