Quibbles with "Cast Away"

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2005)

I was quite impressed with many aspects of this film, but I have to point to a couple of quibbles which helped keep it from being the fully realized work of art it could have been:
1)The first 15 minutes of the film contain as many product placements as I can remember seeing in that short of a time. This is a MAJOR negative to me, as it destroys the suspension of disbelief and immersion in a cinematic world which is so important to the enjoyment of narrative film. The profusion of FedEx logos was comical at times, as in the Moscow airport scene. The film would have been far more effective, in my view, if Hanks has worked for a fictional delivery firm rather than the real-life FedEx. My teenage son argues that use of brand names makes the film more "realistic." I firmly disagree. The use of brands and logos is a constant reminder that you are watching a commercial enterprise backed by labyrinthine financial deals. I thought this was a major problem with "ET" as well. (I would give them a pass on the ball called "Wilson" - that was a pretty good joke, but overall far too many product references.)
2) The filmmakers make the same mistake that Defoe made in "Robinson Crusoe" - the ending is too long and anticlimactic. If you've read "Crusoe" in its original text, you may remember the superfluous episode of a race over the mountains to Lisbon after Crusoe's return. In "Cast Away", judicious editing could have shortened the denouement by at least 10 minutes and still made all of its points. The result would have been a better film.