Wrung Out...

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2001)

Whew! What a film. I just got back from seeing "Cast Away", and I'm not quite able to put into words what I'm feeling right now. Suffice it to say that it was probably the most uniquely engaging film experience I have ever had at the movies. I never thought that a film with such a scarcity of dialogue through the central portion of the film could provoke such an emotional response from me, but this film pays off in buckets. When Tom Hanks' character felt pain, I felt it. When he experienced jubilation, I was right there with him. Additionally, the absence of a soundtrack score through a lot of the film enhances the experience that the main character goes through, and this minimalist approach forces the audience to focus on the bare essentials just as he does.
There seemed to be 3 distinct movements to the film, and the final movement I think might have been the most poignant, all due to the previous sections of the film. Without giving anything away, just know that when the final scene fades you feel a subtle elation that things turned out the way they did.
Also, the scene in the airplane earlier in the film treats you as if you're a passenger. Hanks' character never really knows what is happening or why it is happening, only that something is horribly wrong. Again, no music on the soundtrack, no additional dramatic flair, just a harrowing experience of the sort that I continue to fear whenever I have to fly somewhere. (On reflection, this scene probably wasn't good for me, and I hope I conveniently forget it!)
This film did not evoke too many tears for me during the actual duration of it (although it had some very real moments that I can't forget), but what it did do was leave me sorting out the details long after it was over. If a movie can do that, it was more than worth the price of a ticket. This one does, and is.