A great film

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2001)

Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away is one of the best films I've seen for a long time. Tom Hanks gives an excellent performance as Chuck Noland, a Federal Express worker who leaves Memphis, for a short time to go overseas on business. Before leaving, he tells his girlfriend Kelly ( Helen Hunt), "I'll be right back". What happens next is extraordinary filmmaking: Chuck's plane crashes, and Chuck is the sole survivor, finding himself cast ashore on a deserted island. These scenes are the greatest in the film, for we see Hanks trying to adjust to island life, and having as his only companion, a volleyball which he calls "Wilson". There are a few funny scenes in Cast Away. I laughed at the scenes in which the Federal Express boxes were cast ashore, which were full of rollerskates, videotapes, and of course the volleyball. But the main point of Cast Away is the drama of trying to adjust to life, both on the island and when he gets back home. Whatever you do, just see this film at least once.