Cast Away

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2011)

CAST AWAY – 9.3/10
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: William Broyles Jr.
The greatness of a film is normally traced to the director; there are no two ways about that. We seldom know who the writer is and are even less curious as to who it might be. Cast Away is a case-in-point; it made me shout half way through the film – "who the hell wrote this" ? One of the finest stories of the 21st century, there is much more this film talks about than what it was given credit for. The director, Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump fame) needless to say has done a brilliant job, but what needs serious mention is the writer – William Broyles Jr.
The writer marooned himself for a week on an island to understand what people do in survival situations and consulted several survival experts. Cast Away deals with the very basics of human life; it pokes the viewer with questions we never ask ourselves. Or maybe the need to ask these questions never arise - Why are we here? The film has a strong existential undertone and Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland, a FedEx employee marooned on an island after a plane crash, has given one of the finest performances of his career. The film deals with the struggle of a man who must survive, for the sake of surviving. Chuck, after repeated attempts, has given up hope of returning to the civilized world, and after realizing he has no control even over the way he wishes to die, he simply lives on with the memory of his would-be-wife – Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt).
During the period when Broyles had marooned himself on an island, a ball came in with the tide and pop came the idea of the inanimate character – Wilson. Broyles highlights how a man is so helpless and no better than a rock, if his existence is not recognized by another. The character of Wilson has given the writer some creative liberty to make the film something not close to a silent film, and this stroke of genius mixed with some luck has been craftily used. The cinematography is commendable and the almost one sided conversations throughout the film are interwoven with hidden philosophies and memorable humor.
An emotional poetry of love, fate and belonging, Cast Away is a milestone in Hollywood cinema. To breathe so much life, meaning and humor into a subject so dark and tragic, needs pure genius. Chuck's longing for Kelly and his ultimate acceptance of his fate in the final scene between them is a timeless poem that will outlive the film's critics and lovers. Man needs to belong; that is the very crux of him. Don't forget this. This film won't let you.