Shed a tear for a vollyball...

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2000)

Cast Away is not a fast paced movie. Rather, it is a picture blessed with delicate forms of pristine scenery and stunning environments, all which invite the camera to slowly creep through an array of long, extended takes. In this sense, the film invites the audience to revel in simple beauty, even when cast away to a remote island, in the middle of nowhere, in a desperate quest for survival.
Yet, the survival presented by the movie is not one reminiscent of Golding's Lord of the Flies. It is a different brand of individual exploration, in which a brilliantly prepared Hanks guides the audience on a dramatic journey from the high ground of establishment, to absolute desolation, and back up again...with several surprises on the way.
Again, this is a rather slow paced movie. But it absolutely hinges on the acting prowess of Hanks, who will keep you glued to the screen, as he illustrates a transcendence back to primal nature - struggling to adapt at the most basic level of existence.
In what is essentially a one-man performance, Hanks (with the obvious help of Zemekis' brilliant direction and Burgess' elegant cinematography) creates an uncanny relationship with a lush, tropical island. You will undoubtedly forget, nor be able to refute, the powerful, metaphoric similarities to the glaring realities of modern life that exist on this island. Not only do they prove to be dramatic, but charming and hilarious as well.
Overall, I should admit that no other group of filmmakers and actors could have made me so emotionally attached a volleyball! But this film did, hands down. See it, and find out what I mean for yourself. 9.9/10