Cast Away
Forest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and star Tom Hanks reunite for this protracted tale of a FedEx worker trying to survive alone on an island after his plane is downed in a storm
Yet another new movie that is unlikely to ever appear on your in-flight entertainment programme – see also Final Destination and Fight Club – Cast Away superbly sets up its premise as the plane carrying lardy FedEx systems engineer Chuck Noland (Hanks) swandives into the ocean. As Noland manfully attempts to escape from a watery grave it is clear that director Robert Zemeckis has accomplished more in three minutes than James Cameron managed in three hours when it comes to dramatic transport sinkage. From that point on, however, the film becomes almost as much of an endurance test for the audience as it is for our protagonist as he attempts to survive on a deserted island. True, there are moments of considerable humour, not least when he unwraps some washed-up parcels in the hope of finding something useful only to discover that their contents include videotapes, a volleyball and a pair of ice skates (all of which eventually turn out to be more handy than you might imagine). But its debatable whether Zemeckis' gamble on having Hanks as the sole human protagonist for most of what is an exceedingly long film actually pays off. During the concluding post-island scenes, meanwhile, it is almost possible to hear the director scratching his head as he tries to figure out when exactly to end Noland's travails. The answer? Much sooner than you did, Mr Zemeckis. Much sooner than you did. |
