Some very good acting

Rating: 9/10 (6 April 2001)

This is one of the most unusual and enjoyable movies I've seen in a while. For almost 95% of the movie there's only one actor, two if you want to count a volleyballand in a way he/it does become a very significant character. Why did I enjoy this movie so much? Tom Hanks. Need I say more? Ok, maybe Wilson the volleyball. He was pretty good too; strong silent type. Actor of few words.
Tom Hanks plays a FedEx executive sent to Russia to setup the first courier operation the country has ever seen. His life revolves around the clock and following very specific rules. There is no such thing as basically being on time. You're on time or you're notand you better be on time. He comes back from this trip and we're briefly introduced to his personal life. We meet his fiancé (played by Helen Hunt) and get a very brief glimpse of the life he leads away from FedEx. Shortly after his arrival to the US, he is called away again on another trip. After a hasty good-bye, he's on the plane to his next destination. We all know what happens next and basically for the rest of the movie so I'm not going to go into any more detail about the story.	Making a movie with primarily one character in it is kind of a risky venture but this movie proved that it can be done. Tom Hanks is proving why he's one of the best actors in the business with this movie. It's amazing the amount of stress he puts on himself with the physical changes he goes through to make this movie look authentic. There isn't a lot of dialogue either. Hanks has been able to marvelously show the transformation a person goes through when isolated from the rest of society for a long period of time. There are many moments in the movie where Hanks doesn't say a word but is able to communicate so much to the audience. My favorite is when he's sitting on his haunches looking at the remains of a port-a-potty that washed up thinking of how to best use it. It's a very simple scene yet Hanks is able to say so much without ever uttering a word.
The few weaknesses that I did see revolved around the ending. I guess with a movie of this nature, there are only so many ways to tie it up. Either the character remains stranded on the island forever or he gets rescued. They chose the latter for this movie but to me, it seemed anti-climatic. The ending was tied up a bit neatly but they did try to incorporate a bit of a human interest into it by having a problem arise between Hanks character and Hunts character. It's not overly interesting and I won't spoil it for you but trust me when I say that you will be amazed by the portion of the movie that revolves around Hanks time on the island.
Overall, I'd say this movie is definitely worth seeing on the big screenand it should be seen on a big screen. There are too many quiet, subtle instances that you will miss if you watch it on a TV. It's worth the price of full admission.