CAST AWAY (2000, USA) ****
Adventure, Drama, Romance
dist. Twentieth Century Fox; pr co. Twentieth Century Fox / Dreamworks Pictures / ImageMovers / Playtone; d. Robert Zemeckis; w. William Broyles Jr.; exec pr. Joan Bradshaw; pr. Tom Hanks, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis; assoc pr. Steven J. Boyd, Cherylanne Martin; ph. Don Burgess (DeLuxe. 35 mm (Kodak Vision 2383). Spherical. 1.85:1); m. Alan Silvestri; ed. Arthur Schmidt; pd. Rick Carter; ad. Stefan Dechant, Elizabeth Lapp, William James Teegarden; set d. Rosemary Brandenburg, Karen O’Hara; cos. Joanna Johnston; m/up. Daniel C. Striepeke, Kathryn Blondell, Ronnie Specter; sd. Randy Thom, Dennis Leonard, William B. Kaplan, Ken Fischer, David C. Hughes (SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital); sfx. John Frazier; vfx. Harry Gundersen, Eric Hanson, Ken Ralston; st. Doug Coleman, Bud Davis; rel. 7 December 2000 (USA), 12 January 2001 (UK); cert: PG-13/12; r/t. 143m.
cast: Tom Hanks (Chuck Noland), Helen Hunt (Kelly Frears), Nick Searcy (Stan), Jenifer Lewis (Becca Twig), Geoffrey Blake (Maynard Graham), Peter Von Berg (Yuri), Chris Noth (Jerry Lovett), Lari White (Bettina Peterson), Paul Sanchez (Ramon), Leonid Citer (Fyodor), David Allen Brooks (Dick Peterson), Yelena Popovic (Beautiful Russian Woman), Valentina Ananina (Russian Babushka), Semion Sudarikov (Nicolai), Dmitri S. Boudrine (Lev), François Duhamel (French FedEx Loader), Michael Forest (Pilot Jack), Viveka Davis (Lady from Dick Bettina farm), Jennifer Choe (Memphis State Student), Nan Martin (Kelly’s Mother).
Hanks stars as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer whose personal and professional life are ruled by the clock. His manic existence abruptly ends when, after a plane crash, he becomes isolated on a remote island – cast away into the most desolate environment imaginable. Hanks delivers a superb performance, holding then screen for the most its running time. He superbly relays the character’s instinct and will to survive in a hostile environment along with the mental impact and emotional scars the experience leaves on him. The film is bookended with a set-up and resolution to his relationship with Hunt. It is here the film admirably tries to keep a balanced view but falls into some of the trappings of soap opera, However, the two stars play the scenes perfectly and elevate them above the material. Also notable in a supporting role is Searcy as Hanks’ closest work colleague. Technical attributes are strong. The photography is colourful; the plane crash scene tensely portrays the terror and confusion; Zemeckis directs with a sure hand and uses the FedEx delivery system as a neat way of topping and tailing the story. But it is Hanks’ film and his solo turn on his desert island that is the heart and soul of the production. The film was shot in two blocks over a year apart to allow Hanks to lose weight and grow his hair for the four-year gap in the story.
AAN: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks); Best Sound (Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis S. Sands, William B. Kaplan)