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Geoffrey Blake, Jennifer Lewis Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Tom Hanks Rated PG-13 for intense action sequences, profanity, brief vulgarity and some disturbing images. RATING CANADA... Rated PG with warnings of intense scenes and light language. |
Adventure Drama At the edge of the world, his journey begins. |
While waiting for the movie to start I sat back and enjoyed a hot dog, with lots of mustard, relish and ketchup. Sounds messy doesn't it. Theatre hot dogs are getting better; I didn't get heartburn after I ate it. The hot dog was good so I certainly hoped that CASTAWAY would be as good. Since Tom Hanks hasn't done a bad picture in quite a while now I certainly figured the odds were in its favour. You can usually figure that with Hanks you will get your monies worth when visiting the local hardtop or drive-in theatre. I can give you my guarantee that you will leave CASTAWAY fully satisfied. |
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We interrupt this review for a speech from the soapbox. All those who feel there are too many commercials in theatres nowadays,
hold up your mouse. Feels like you're at home watching television, right? Maybe that is why so many patrons feel they can
act like they are at home in front of their tv set. Kind of makes you wonder when someone will start putting in commercial ads
in front of videos as well. It's ads that I'm referring to; not movie trailers. I did like the new AGF Hulk commercial,
it was at least entertaining but I really can not remember what it was selling. Now excuse me while I get off the soapbox. Ahh,
that's better, now we return you to the review. Hold on the soapbox guy is back, okay? I really have to go through this because it is part of the movie. This big nagging question at the end of the movie will be with you when you leave. How much did FEDEX pay to be in this movie. This is probably the longest commercial ever filmed. FedEx or FedEx parcels are everywhere in this movie; if you used a watch, I bet over half the movie had FedEx references in it. Tell me if I'm wrong after you see CASTAWAY The movie begins with a scene that ending much more important than I thought it would be. A FedEx truck picks up a package in a rural area and we see it make it's way all the way to Moscow in Russia. We slowly reach the new FedEx offices in Moscow where Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is lecturing all the new workers on what is expected of them. He opens up a package and pulls out a clock. It took 87 hours for the package to go from Memphis to moscow. It took too long. Time is in an obession with Chuck, it seems a bit unhealthy but don't worry, you know what is in store for him. He flies back home to Memphis where he talks to Stan (Nick Searcy) about Stan's wife who has cancer. Chuck tells him he will be there for him, no matter what. You will recognize Nick Searcy from the syndicated series SEVEN DAYS. Back home Chuck meets up with his fiancee, Helen Hunt playing Kelly Frears. During the family Christmas dinner Chuck is paged for a job emergency. At the airport Kelly and CHuck exchange gifts and goodbyes. She gives him an heirlom, an old pocket watch with her picture in it. He gives her a present to open, New Year's Eve, just before boarding the plane. During the flight things go wrong, turbulence hits the plane. This an excellent scene and you can feel the terror as they know the inevitable will happen. Chuck only struggles to reach the watch that he has placed down, just as the plane plunges into the ocean. Clutching to a infatable raft, Chuck is forced out of the plane exploding unto the surface in the middle of the torrential storm. We are witness to some excellent cinematography here. You can just feel the loneliness and terror that Chuck feels as his little liferaft is pummeled by huge waves. Director Robert Zemekis has the small raft photographed from a distance so that we can easily get the sense of immensity of the ocean waves pounding down on him. Zemekis takes his time with this film; he does not rush scenes, he paces them to make sure that the audience feels whatever is necessary to evoke the emotion he wants from you. The 143 minute running time will attest to this fact. if the film was even longer you would not have even realized it. Chuck wakes up on a tropical desert island. His first concern is the watch, he opens it so that he can look at Kelly's picture. Exploring the beach he picks up washed up FedEx packages, he will find quite a few of these packages at various times throughout the film. As Chuck explores the island we can see that it is totally deserted and by having him climb to the top of a hill Chuck as well as the audience gets to see his isolation. He is on a small island surrounded by crashing surf on all sides. To add to what will be his loneliness, there are no animals and not even a bird is heard throughout the entire film. He is totally alone. In desperation he has walked out a huge help sign in the sand. In the morning he places logs on the sign to make it more visible. During the night he hears small sounds that feel like little explosions but in the morning we find that it is manna from heaven. They are coconuts falling from the trees. Breaking through the green fiberous covering of the coconuts tests his ingenuity because it is not something easily accomplished. He begins to form stone tools until he gets to the food source. Exploring the shore line he finds more packages. Walking in the water he cuts and scrapes his feet releasing blood into the water. Will Zemekis give us the inevitable scenes we expect when we see blood int he water? The year of his crash and isolation is 1995. He quickly realizes the survival has to be utmost on his mind until rescue arrives. He uses all the raft and the items in the packages to survive his ordeal. There is one package that has a pair of wings drawn on it in gold paint. This package he refuses to open and seems to use it as his focus, something to hang on to something to survive for. During a storm he finds a cave and settles into it, this is his new home away from the elements. While scraping some wood he gouges his hand and in his anger he breaks out into a furry of destruction. Picking up a soccer ball from one of the packages he leaves his bloody hand imprint on its face. His anger calmed he looks at the blood and draws a face in the blood and places the ball next him. He has a friend to talk to at last. This inspires him and he manages to start a fire at last. He makes a huge bonfire and dances around it and finally he can have some cooked crab. Taking the fire to his cave he sits down and has his chat witht he ball. His tooth is hurting him and he makes idle chat wishing he had a dentist around. He recalls his dentist's name is James Spaulding. It is a moment of levity that Zemekis allows us before Chuck decides to do something about his tooth. It will make him black out and lose consciousness. A small break here to bring up that Zemekis uses an interesting technique throughout the island scenes and even later to give us a feeling of added loneliness and despair. He uses a sort of continuous rasping wavy sound in the background. I found the white noise grated at me and made Chuck's isolation even more intense. It will weird you out a bit, but it is effective. Four years later, it is now 1999. We now see a large bearded Chuck fishing and then eating the raw fish even though he has fire. Remmber this scene because it makes a perfect companion to a scene much later on in the movie involving sushi. The ball still has a face but now sports a head of hair and a name, Wilson. His life has meandered on in isolation and we realize that Chuck is not really all there anymore his speech and mannerisms are erratic and bordering on the edge of sanity. Chuck's conversations with Wilson are spooky and disturbing, but it is obvious that this is now a real person, a friend, to him. Fate has decided it is time to step in and brings a gift to him on the island, a possible means of escape. After staring at his gift and having long conversations with Wilson he puts his daring and dangerous plan into motion. During his preparations we discover that at some point he must have tried to commit suicide to ecape his isolation. At one point he argues with Wilson about his plans and in a fit of anger over a disagreement he hurls the ball out of the cave. When he realizes what he has done he frantically searches for Wilson only to find him in the water. Saddened that he almost lost his frioend he slices his hand open and uses the blood to put a face back on the ball. Chuck makes his plans carefully and waits for the right time to make his escape from the island to freedom. Die here or out there, what's the difference. He prepares the only package he didn't open and Wilson for the journey home, hopefully. Before leaving he leaves a message scraped on a stone wall to Kelly, in case he does not make it alive. He tells her that he loves her. He has prepared everything and he is ready for his journey to begin. I am not going to tell you much about this section of the film so you can enjoy it fresh. I will say that we do see the intensity of his love and need of Wilson. You will actually share his feelings for Wilson. Maybe I'm to sentimental but I think you will come to accept, like Chuck, that Wilson is real and you will feel the same emotions about this soccer ball as he does. Much throughout this movie really affects the audience. I sat back and listened to them as they either gave nervous snickers or laughter at the uncomfortable parts of this film because I think we can all put ourselves in Chuck's place. Would we survive? Would we do the things he had to do to survive? Those questions float around your head throughout the movie. I can tell you one thing about the scenes with Wilson when they escape, no one laughed, no one snickered at his emotions towards this ball. I really believe they came to accept Wilson as a friend and saviour. I hope you get the same feeling because in a way it feels good. Like they say in the commercials about CASTAWAY his journey really begins after his ordeal. Life can give you some strange twists and sometimes what you think is your part in the universe or your part in someone's life is not necessarily what you think or feel it should or will be. Sometimes a greater power takes control to make sure that what is meant for you will happen. God or the universe, who knows? Zemekis suceeds in giving us lots of questions to ponder and hopefully we will come to our own conclusions when we sit at the crossroads of our life. I really don't want to get into the third part of the movie too much but I am going to leave you with some quotes that might intrigue you and tease you into seeing this great movie. It has my highest recommendation. See it so that you'll understand why Tom Hanks will probably receive another Academy Award® best actor nomination this year. 
 Meet you at the crossroads...fade to black... |
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vjm@metrocity.com