Untimely ending

Rating: Null/10 (29 December 2000)

Movies like Cast Away which center on someone trapped in a hostile environment are all about timing. There must be adequate time for us to get to know the character before he embarks on his adventure, but not too much time or we feel the director is delaying the inevitable. The time the character spends in isolation must be just right: Too little and we don't feel the depth of despair the character feel; too long and we get antsy. And the resolution must also be timed perfectly: If it happens too quickly it seems too easy; too long and we begin to feel exhausted along with the main character.
Director Zemeckis times "Cast Away" perfectly. Throw in an amazing plane crash scene and an Oscar worthy performance by Tom Hanks, and you have a good film. Good, but not great. Zemeckis sets Hanks up as a time-obsessed Fed Ex executive. We want to see Hanks obsession with time change, but we don't get a clear payoff that it does. The movie ends on an ambiguous note, leading us to question which way Hanks will literally head. It's a question best resolved, but it isn't here.