 Tom Hanks will probably get
another academy award for this piece, but it should go to Crowe for Gladiator.
Hanks has an amazing turn as a Robinson Crusoe with no Friday, cannibals or
room to grow on. It is all about his surviving on an island for four years and
how he adapts.
I dare say if not for the hugely popular Survivor
TV series, this would be seen a something more of an event. But hey, if a fat
fag (in his words TYVM.) like Richard Hatch can make it with minimal support
from CBS, anybody can. So some of the bloom is off that rose. (Considering all
the support CBS gave Al Gore, he could probably live on the island until the
next millennium)
What they don't do here, is
discuss Hanks' changed perceptions of what time is and does to him, as manager
for Fed Ex absolutely getting it there on time to his tenure as Island Master
with nothing to deliver except the occasional witticism to an athropomorphic
volley ball with bad hair.
Still, Cast Away is very
intriguing, and his journey is emotionally draining. Spared much of the island
the way Kubrick spared us boot camp in Full Metal Jacket, we nevertheless get
the idea that aloneness on a tropic isle is no picnic.
Finally, I feel the full analysis
of his return to civilization is left unexamined - certainly in today's world
there would be lawsuits and book deals and job offers and media overkill. The
film exits on a graceful note, but it just does not do that much for
me.
There is a hellaciously
impressive shot looking out of the FedEx airport terminal at the long field of
aircraft. It is probably one of the tightest and most profitable airlines ever
conceived, and it is really remarkable that it all started as a paper in
college. Amazing.
I wonder how they managed to get
FedEx to let them crash the plane on screen - seems like it might put a fear in
the public about FedEx planes crashing, but then again, the whole show is one
long love affair with FedEx, to no detriment.
Helen Hunt is terrific as the
girlfriend who couldn't wait for him to "be right back", and Nick
Searcy, who I really like on TV's Seven Days Time Travel series, is caring,
thoughtful, and sensitive.
This is my pick for third best of
2000, behind Gladiator and Patriot, followed by
Erin Brockovich and The Grinch. Snap. Just like
that.
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