When you haven't got anywhere, all you've got is nowhere

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2007)

Cast Away was Tom Hanks' second film with director Robert Zemeckis. The last time they collaborated was on the 1994 multi-Oscar winner Forrest Gump. I must admit I was never exactly a huge fan of Forrest Gump, despite being a great admirer of Zemeckis' work. It was a film that painted a rather naive portrait of America and its relationship with the common man. And the special effects (however impressive they might have been) were only a nifty selling-point to wow the Academy award winning crowd. One of the most commercially calculated and overrated films ever made.
Happily, Zemeckis seems to have learnt from his mistakes with Forrest Gump. Because Cast Away is a much more accomplished piece of storytelling. A fascinating portrayal of a man cut off from civilisation, and when he finally returns to it, he's just as shipwrecked. This is the type of film Tom Hanks should be winning Oscars for. Because the film rests entirely on his shoulders. And best of all, there's none of the false optimism that plagued Forrest Gump.
Hanks plays FedEx Express worker Chuck Noland. He is a man who lives and dies by the clock. Always on the go. One minute he's sorting out packaging schedules in Russia. The next he's delivering much needed vaccines in Malaysia. Its a hectic lifestyle, and one that doesn't leave a lot of time for a social life.
Nonetheless, Chuck is in a happy relationship with girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt), even though she gets exasperated when they can't even finish a dinner date because his damn beeper goes off. And that's exactly what happens on Christmas Eve. After he's just proposed to Kelly, he's called away for a job. At the airport, he tells her "I'll be right back." Famous last words.
The plane he is on is caught in a storm, and dive-bombs into the ocean. Chuck survives in an inflatable life-raft, just barely, and is washed ashore on an island. Now all alone, Chuck must gather every resource at his disposal to survive. To make it through to the next day.
Cast Away is an outstanding film. One of the great survivalist tales you'll ever see. Robert Zemeckis' direction has never been so astute and intelligent. In fact for my money, Cast Away may be the best film yet to emerge from Zemeckis' mostly excellent body of work.
Before we even get to the island, there are the scenes of the plane crash and Chuck's valiant voyage in his rubber dinghy. The crash is a tour de force of action and effects work. Zemeckis shoots it in a series of frenzied camera angles and jolting close-ups. Its a startling scene, so affecting for its suddenness. And the scene where Chuck nearly gets shredded by an out of control engine turbine stays in the memory and doesn't easily fade.
Only for Zemeckis to outdo himself by staging the equally striking scenes of Chuck in his boat, caught in the ravages of a fierce thunderstorm. And its a brutal scene of frightening imagery. A scene of almost complete darkness, illuminated only by flashes of lightning, highlighting the tiny speck of Chuck and his boat on the vast ocean.
But its when we get to the island that Cast Away really opens up. Zemeckis' direction is clipped and concise. He never shows us more than what we need (and want) to see. The film goes through the motions of Chuck's trials and tribulations. But there's an almost terrifying immediacy to these scenes. Some of them are only about ten seconds in length. Little interconnected vignettes.
Chuck writing HELP in the sand. Shouting for help to no-one in particular. Spending his first night on the island surrounded by the sounds of crashing waves and bird-calls. Exploring the summit of the island. Gathering washed up FedEx packages for supplies. Cracking open a coconut (something that takes a very, very, very long time). Fishing. Sheltering in caves. Cutting himself. Bleeding. And the monumental feeling of ecstasy Chuck feels when he makes a fire for the first time.
Tom Hanks really turns in one of his finest performances here. Certainly his best since Big (another film he should have won an Oscar for). What makes his performance all the more impressive is its almost in complete silence. Which makes his isolation seem even more potent and poignant. And a little eerie too.
Zemeckis also comes up with an unusual method to draw upon Chuck's slowly unravelling mental state. A volleyball that washed ashore too. A volleyball Chuck names Wilson. It becomes like a character in the story. Its Chuck's only companion, and as he feels affection for this inanimate object, you'll find you will too.
Zemeckis constantly keeps coming up with grander and grander developments. None more shocking than when the film flashes forward four years and Chuck is much more lean and hardened by his experiences. Tom Hanks deserves some commendation for losing so much weight for the role.
And his method of escape is clever. Building a makeshift raft from timbers and using a portable toilet cover washed ashore as a sail, Chuck overcomes crashing waves and turbulent storms in his fragile craft to get home. The scene where he loses Wilson is a moment of surprising poignancy. Watching him float further and further away. Ultimately Chuck is saved. But the story doesn't end there.
Once Chuck is home safe and sound, he finds the world has moved on without him. Kelly has remarried, and Chuck is unsure of his place anymore. The ending is bravely not a happy one. There is something very bittersweet to Chuck's sudden salvation crashing into harsh reality.
If you haven't seen Cast Away, you're missing out on a modern classic. An expertly crafted tale of survival that's enthralling from beginning to end.