Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a systems engineer working as a corporate trouble shooter in the Federal Express overnight parcels business. This high stress lifestyle however comes to a very abrupt end when a violent storm brings down the plane over the Pacific. Noland is the only survivor. Fetching up on a volcanic island dominated by a sheer cliff, Noland is left with just his wits and a bunch of coconuts for company. What he has not factored into the equation is the survival of his psyche.
Weeks turn to months, and eventually to years.
Flashing forward, we see that this time-stressed guy has made some sort of peace with the natural rhythms of Nature, discovered his inner cave man, shed 50 pounds of flab and has deep and meaningful conversations with a volleyball. Shot on the uninhabited Fijian island of Monu-riki, Cast Away is a simple yarn about the human spirit triumphing over adversity. Anyone who's seen the trailer can tell you that much. What the trailors don't tell you is what Hanks, the Everyman of our cinematic era, does with the role. In another move against Hollywood formula, Zemeckis wisely dumps the soundtrack leaving us with the sounds of the natural environment to accompany the action and amplify the hero's isolation.