Recovery Day
Another slow day at work. Thank the maker. I'm all worn out after a great Holiday weekend. Hope you had one too. It was wonderful making new traditions with Stacey. I look forward to many years of Xmas fun with her. Tonight we're doing a Jewish Holiday dinner at her Mom's house.
Also saw Castaway with Tom Hanks. Here's my review... don't read if you don't want to have the movie 'spoiled' for you.
Spoilers! - Castaway with Tom HanksThe box office winner this past weekend was, as if there was any doubt, the latest Tom Hanks flick - Castaway. You all know the story already (since the previews gave the whole movie away). All that's left is the scenery, the script, and the ability of one man to carry the premise. Well, two out of the three ain't bad.
The opening minutes of the movie set up the character of Chuck Noland. We are told repeatedly of his quirky traits which allow him to be a great manager for FedEx, a company where time is your enemy and your partner, and an all around nice guy (which we assume any Tom Hanks character to be). We are introduced to a few additional cast members whom we know we won't see again until the end of the movie and a few whom we are left wondering why there were there in the first place.
Then comes a quick series of events where we see the Chuck Noland character make a series of dumb moves that will eventually save his life but also strand him with none of the tools necessary for survival.
The plane crash is as spectacular as you would expect from any blockbuster film, what they can do these days in post production is amazing; and eventually you find yourself washed up on shore alone with a FedEx Manager whom you have just barely gotten to know. Not exactly the last person on earth I'd want to be stranded on an island with... but not among my top choices either.
Since we know he makes it off the island, the script spends most of its time amusing the audience with Chuck's various failures and successes as he attempts to survive. There are a couple of painful moments too, including one where our castaway desparately tries to escape beyond the barrier reef.
Then, without explanation or warning, the script jumps four years into the future and presents us with a totally different man than we left just a few seconds before. We see a man who has been driven insane without knowing what sent him over the edge. What could have been a fascinating study of the descent of an isolated man, asks us to take his insanity for granted.
Even worse, there are important character changing moments that happen totally off screen and are only spoken about. I would much rather have seen those changes for myself even if it made the film a few minutes longer.
Finally, the trade winds of luck smile upon our hapless castaway and he escapes the island. Eventually this brings us back to the mainland and a slightly more plausible series of events. In fact, the last few minutes of the movie are the most believable and understandable in the whole movie.
Robert Zemeckis shoots the film in a dark, almost grayscale at times, tint. While he's obviously chosen the shots, he mostly lets Hanks act, and the audience watch him. Zemeckis, who also worked with Hanks in Forrest Gump, leaves most of his emotional string pulling bag of tricks at home.
Hanks carries the movie quite admirally and his performance and physical transformation is worth seeing. The structural problems I had with the script do not destroy the whole movie, they just left me feeling abused as a viewer. But then again, most Zemeckis films do that to me.
I'd give the movie 3 out of 5 coconuts.
