A+movie+review-+Castaway

Adapted from: Ebert, R. (2000, December 22). //Cast Away//. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from Roger Ebert: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cast-away-2000

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 Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a time-obsessed Federal Express executive who troubleshoots all over the world, arranging hurry-up package transfers in Moscow before flying off to solve problems in Asia. [|Helen Hunt] plays his fiancee, Kelly Frears, who tries her best to accept a man ruled by a beeper. She comes from clock-watching stock, and for Christmas gives Chuck her grandfather's railroad watch.

Noland __hitches__ a ride on a FedEx flight across the Pacific, which is blown off course before crashing after an onboard explosion. Noland survives the crash, and floats in a life raft to a deserted island. The movie's power and effect center on the island. Chuck, the time-and-motion man, finds himself in a world without clocks, schedules, or much of a future. There's something wonderfully pathetic about the way he shouts "Hello? Anybody?" at the sand and trees. Those are his last words for a time, as he tries to remember childhood lessons about fire making and shelter construction. Then there's a four-year flash-forward and we see the formerly __plump__ Chuck as a __gaunt__, skinny survivor. I find it __fascinating__ when a movie just watches somebody doing something. Actual work is more interesting than most movie plots. Chuck splits coconuts, traps fish, builds fires, and makes use of the __contents__ of several FedEx boxes that washed up with him. And he paints a face on a volleyball and names it Wilson- a __device__ which, not incidentally, gives him an excuse for talking out loud.

Hanks proves here again what an effective actor he is, never straining for an effect, always persuasive even in this unlikely situation, winning our sympathy with his eyes and his body language when there's no one else on the screen.

I liked every scene on the island and wanted more of them. There's a lovely moment when he __squats__ on the ground, looking at a crate that has washed up. I also liked the details of his escape. A shot of the giant bow of an ocean tanker, __looming__ over his raft, could have been the setup for the movie to end. But no. As the trailers incredibly reveal, he returns home, where. . ..

Well, I can't bring myself to say, just on the chance you're still reading and don't know. I would have preferred knowing much less about "Cast Away" on my way into the theater. Noland's survival should be an open question as far as the audience is concerned. What I relate ‘Castaway’ to is McDonald's. The reason McDonald's is a tremendous success is that you don't have any surprises. You know exactly what it is going to taste like. Everybody knows the menu." This is all the more depressing since Zemechis, the director, usually makes good movies.



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