One-of-a-kind type of film

Rating: 6/10 (11 October 2013)

I went to see "Cast Away" in the theater during Christmas 2000 because I have a taste for stranded-on-deserted-island movies like "Mysterious Island" (1961), but was somewhat disappointed. Why? Possibly because of the fact that Tom Hanks' character in the film, Chuck Noland, is stuck on an island all by his lonesome and the island is very small. As such, there's zero social interaction, except with a soccer ball that chuck names Wilson, and there's very little exploration of the island because it's so small. On top of this, the ending is odd and somewhat ambiguous. Despite this, "Cast Away" was a surprise hit at the box office.
Viewing it a second time, I was braced for its uniqueness and got more out of it, but there's still a lot of downtime or empty stretches as Chuck tries to survive for over four years on the island and then faces a completely new life and perspective in the closing act. So don't expect a lot of action or high adventure; this is a drama about the mundaneness of being stuck on a deserted island and how it positively or negatively affects you. There are only a couple of thrilling scenes, like the excellent plane crash.
As noted above, the film respects the intelligence of the viewer by not spelling everything out, but the answers are there for anyone who takes the time to reflect on the events and clues. Some questions the film might provoke: How exactly does a certain Fed-Ex package save Chuck's life? Where's God in all of this? The Texas ranch at the beginning belongs to "Dick and Bettina", but at the end to just Bettina, what does this mean? Why the angel symbol of all things? Where does Chuck decide to go at the end?
Like I said, "Cast Away" is a one-of-a-kind film and so you have to be in the right mode for it. But, when you are, it's very satisfying and even... enlightening.
The film runs 143 minutes.
GRADE: B-/C+