well made, moving film

Rating: Null/10 (31 August 2001)

If this movie would've starred anyone else, it surely wouldn't've worked as well as it did. Tom Hanks plays his character as an everyman. Not as an ever-confident superhuman, but not as a total wimp either. That makes it easy to relate to his character, Chuck Noland. Technically, the movie is a marvel. Beautiful cinematography and excellent use of sound. They had the good sense to let out a music score to convey the utter silence on the island. The situations on the island he finds himself in are realistically portrayed, mostly thanks to a well-written script by William Broyles. The way he used the volleyball to make him have someone to talk to (other than air) was a master stroke. SPOILER AHEAD! It's even more amazing that the movie makes us sad when Chuck loses the ball. That is perhaps the saddest moment of the film. Some people were disappointed with the ending. Well, trust me, it's the only way they could've wrapped this kind of film up. Think of any other plausible ending and it just wouldn't've worked in the film. Everyone involved did a very respectable job in this film, making it one of the best ones released in 2000. This is, in any case, a film worth viewing.