Religious Overtones? *******Spoilers"*******

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2002)

I was surprised by the number of religious themes in "Cast Away". I should have suspected though, it's the story of a hard-charging yuppie go-getter who, because of a plane crash, is stranded alone on a tiny Pacific Ocean island. There he is forced to live by his wits, and keep his sanity while he waits for deliverance.
Knowing these story elements I was expecting to be bored to tears. The only reason for renting it was to see Tom Hank's performance. But no, I was not bored at all. The first quarter of the movie introduces us to Tom, his fiancée, and job as a FedEx troubleshooter. He's a nice guy, but something's missing. The fateful flight over the Pacific fills us with dread, and by the time the plane gets lost, we're on the edge of our seats. The middle half of the movie covers his castaway years on a tropical island, and how he learns to cope both physically and mentally. The final quarter of the film chronicles his escape and return to civilization.
Religious symbols and themes are all over "Cast Away", from the blatant (the angel wings on the only FedEx box Tom never opens) to the more subtle, (the cave iconography, and the meaning of the hangman's rope). "Cast Away" is more than just a storytelling movie, there's lots to think about also. I highly recommend it for a family rental.