Review of Cast Away (2000) by Cameron J — 26 May 2012

Just in case his leading a powerful dramatic career consisting of great films that unexpectedly secured him as one of the greatest actors "of all time" wasn't enough, this is pretty much Tom Hanks' apology for his other island film, and yet one question on everyone's mind still remains: What makes this better than "Joe Versus the Volcano"? Is it the absence of Meg Ryan's awful acting, the absence of the awful writers, the absence of a barely passable technical team or the absence of a terrible director? I'm not going to answer those questions, I just love to complain about that trash heap. If you were seriously wondering how this is better than "Joe Versus the Volcano", then you should probably stop watching Tom Hanks' dramas and go back to watching big dumb comedies and blockbusters, seeing as how you're clearly not sophisticated enough to appreciate this deep, brilliant and meditative, considerably non-comic study on a guy from FedEx getting stuck on an island and getting into such crazy misadventures with a charming volleyball that he thinks is talking to him as trying to figure out how to start fire or what to do about a bad tooth. ...Wow, that does actually sound pretty silly, but hey, that's to be expected, because no matter how serious they get when it comes to being serious, Tom Hanks and Bob Zemeckis are gonna figure out someway back to their comedic roots, and thank goodness too, because without that, this snoozefest would... well, still be awesome, because, come on, it's Tom Hanks and Bob Zemeckis, and with all of their comedic roots, it's always a bigger joy when they get trapped on the island of drama. Man, this is a film in which, for the longest time, [b][u]"virtually nothing happens"[/u][/b], and yet, I still thought it was awesome, so if you think that I only complain about films sqaundering potential through slowness and long periods of nothingness just so I'll have an excuse, then, you have yet to be proven right, because as excellent as this film is, some is left to be desired. While the steady storytelling does work to unexpectedly great effect quite a bit, needless to say, if you're going to take the good from the meditative storytelling, then you better believe that you can expect for quite a bit of the bad.

The film kicks off to a still good, yet improvable start, plagued by manipulative development that forsakes subtlety and inventiveness to thrust investment in the Chuck Noland character and his life onto the audience, when it so very easily could have fleshed out our lead in a more organic, subtle and deep fashion, considering the competence of the director, especially here. As much as I still quite enjoyed the development segment, I'd be lying if I didn't say that, with honestly no exaggeration, the film actually picks up when Noland find hits the island. Still, make no mistake, even that segment is problematic for very obvious reasons, for although the bookends of the film are also extremely slow and rather dry, it's the body of the film that proves the most challenging to the audience. Putting an end to all of the wondering about just how long Noland finds himself stranded, I clocked the island segment at about 66 minutes, and that's 66 minutes populated by literally nothing but Chuck Noland adapting to his environment and struggling to survive. As I'll get into later, that meditative take on everything works more than it should, yet at the same time, it works against the film, aiding in the losing of steam and keeping the film from securing consistent greatness. Still, make no mistake, this film presents a doable task to the audience and a near-impossible challenge to the filmmakers, and it's a challenge that, the way it is, can't be fully transcended, yet can very well be conquered, and conquering the challenge is exactly what the filmmakers do. As a whole, the film falls beneath greatness, yet there's still so much about the film that is just phenomenal enough for the film to reward greatly, with certain upstanding aspects being what you wouldn't exactly expect to be so definitive to the film's being so excellent.

It should go without saying that the film is underwritten, yet William Broyles Jr.'s script remains pretty top-notch, keeping the countless set piece-driven spots going with, well, sharp set pieces that feel believable and intriguing, while sweetening the satisfaction of your desire for speak pieces with great dialogue, which isn't the only rare aspect to the film that delivers upon its long-awaited arrival. Outside of pure environment, most of the film is drop-dead silent, yet whenever Alan Silvestri's score kicks in, it's well worth the wait, because outside of those Russian tunes at the beginning that are just there to sound good and do nothing more, much of the musc is so very transcendant, thoughtful and inspired, empowering the resonance and atmosphere with haunting tenderness and subtlety that gracefully cuts deep and makes the silence worth sitting through. Still, it certainly helps that even the silence helps in augmenting the compellingness of this film, because this is how you handle audible silence. The mark of truly phenomenal sound design is sound design that actually supplements the very atmosphere and immersiveness of a film, and where this sound editing could have pulled a Terrence Malick and been so good at amplifying environmental noise to where the only thing it supplements is tedium, the sounds actually plant you in the film as comfortably and securely as any other example of truly brilliant audio technical value. The sounds of the film surprisingly plant you quite deeply into the film and help in fighting off disengagement, while Don Burgess' cinematography locks you in. The film looks gorgeous, with an attractive dreamy glow that's not too in your face all the time, yet blanks that face when it particularly emphasized, adding awe to the atmosphere, while incredible camerawork creates an authentic, transporting feel. Still, one of the two men behind it all who truly help the most in bringing this world to life in such a kinetic fashion is the man who is literally behind it all, or at least the camera.

Robert Zemeckis is quite easily among today's great directors, and this film, while not quite up to par with his masterpiece and previous collaboration with the great Tom Hanks, remains one of, if not the biggest testament to Zemeckis' extraordinary directing abilities. The aforementioned components to the film's consistent engagement value and ultimate stance as excellent would be merely nothing more than components, scattered and ineffective when tossed distances from each other within an environment this difficult to conquer, yet Zemeckis marries the spirit of all of the top-notch technical value and sharp scripting into a single point that is quite the wonder to watch, as it surges and enthralls, perhaps not to where dullness is completely dismissed, yet to where boredom is all but dissipated, thanks to the sheer impact of the atmosphere. Whether you're feeling the waves as they crash over Chuck Noland or the vertigo while Noland looks over a mountain peak, or feeling genuine wonderment towards the world around Noland as he simply unboxes the lost packages of another person or gives proper burial to a pilot who joined him in his floating to the island, yet with less luck, you'd be hard pressed to not find yourself feeling as though you're right there on the island with Noland, getting to know and connect with him, not as a character, but as another human being, which of course makes emotional resonance all the sharper. Not all of the dramatic touches are terribly subtle, yet it's all riddled with sobering depth and tenderness, spawned from the righteously inspired storytelling and resonance by Zemeckis that's somehow free of pretense and rich with emotion that can choke up, if not tear up easy. A common mistake made by people is their deeming much of this film a one-man play, when in actuality, not counting Wilson, the core of this film is a two-man dance, with Zemeckis leading the way offscreen and pumping the film with such kinetic resonance that enthralls and immerses the audience during the film's meditative body and presents remarkable pay-off with provocative emotional impact at the bookends. This is as much a showcase of Zemeckis' phenomenal skill as it is a showcase of Tom Hanks'. However, on the other hand, this remains just as much a showcase of Hanks' phenomenal skill as it is a showcase of Zemeckis'.

As stated at the beginning of the opener, Tom Hanks has proven himself to be one of the greatest actors of all time, and that's quite a standard to set, so it's certainly something to boast when I say that this has got to be among his finest performances, because he doesn't simply become Chuck Noland, the character, he becomes a new person, all together, yet still with a few aspects that we've seen and always love about the great Tom Hanks. During the more humanly calm moments, Hanks is a delight to watch, delivering on that classic crackerjack charm as a force that gives his environment room to breathe, while not letting you forget who the real owner of the spotlight is. Still, when reality catches up with Noland, Hanks switches into serious, and does so with a compelling take-action presence of instinct embracement, as well as the human desire of hope and commitment as Hanks takes us through an insightfully subtle and heavily layered adventure through the instincts and spirit of a human. During his five year entrapment, Chuck Noland faces the unbearable, the relevatory and the all around transforming as he touches the deepest underexplored regions of the human spirit and battles the forces that threaten who he is as just that, a human, and by the end, he is an almost entirely person, yet subtley so, and for that transformation to be palpable, you need a master performance, and boy, do you get one. Hanks portrays the gradual maturity and constant vulnerability of Noland with a gripping presence and riveting emotional range that dances from the heartbreakingly broad to the intensely silent and expressive, creating a transformative force of authenticity that you can hardly discern from great acting to simply watching a man who just faces what Noland does. Hanks is a force to be reckoned with, standing at the level of inspiration and brilliance of Zemeckis, and while this film still stands as inferior as their first team effort, it's this film that truly solidifies them as a bonafide dream team. The challenge of carrying a film that's literally close to nothing but nothing is simply unbeatable, so the film never stood a chance of being truly full-on phenomenal, but this is as close as it gets, and for that, we have to thank an endless slew of skill that all comes down a single human being around whom an epic is crafted and made into what is the first "Epic Bottle Film", and boy, what a first example.

Looking back at the film as it floats away, even with its momentary lapses in subtlety, it could have never been what it is and come out a full-on chef d'oeuvre, being challenged too greatly by the active excessive padding and dry, slow-burn dullness that it could defeat, or even conquer to its advantage, but never fully transcend, yet make no mistake, this film still conquers that challenge as thoroughly as it can, delivering consistent technical proficiency that supplements immersive substance just as, if not more sensationally than it supplements style, while underexplored but stellar scripting and score work stand as worth waiting for, as they pump additional power into the resonant atmosphere created by a radically inspired Robert Zemeckis and carried by a masterful, utterly haunting performance - nay - total transformation by Tom Hanks, who serves as one of the biggest in a sea of pieces to the puzzle that crafts "Cast Away" as a brilliant, transporting and emotionally satisfying accomplishment that amazingly comes as close to transcendant of natural flaws as it can and stands as, if nothing else, as much a materpiece in overcoming challenges as a study.

3.5/5 - Solid.