"Cast Away"

Title: "Cast Away"
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, and Tom Hanks
Editing: Arthur Schmidt
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Starring:
- Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland
- Helen Hunt as Kelly Frears

Plot and Critical Review: It is becoming more and more common to see the names Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks appear next to each another when it comes to blockbuster motion pictures. There are several directors who tend to use "their" actors to accomplish excellence in the films they oversee. Tim Burton calls on Johnny Depp. Quentin Tarantino employs Uma Thurman and and Samuel L. Jackson. For whatever reason there are certain directors who connect with certain actors in a special way and when they work together we are treated to nothing less than cinematic magic. This is the case in "Cast Away", a film about Chuck Noland (Hanks), a FedEx employee (a systems analyst) who is stranded on an island and must do everything within his power to survive.

The film begins with Noland conducting a review in Russia at a FedEx shipping center in need of encouraging. He is ruthless in his demand that time be met, that every package be shipped on schedule. His obsession with timeliness is in fact...obsessive, and we are at once convinced that Noland is a man of deep dedication and loyalty to his work. He returns home to his other great love, his girlfriend Kelly (Hunt). They share a tender relationship that is defined by a deep sense of affection for one another but always seems to come under the demands of Noland's job. Chuck and Kelly are able to share Christmas with one another in Noland's car before he is rushed off to analyze the effectiveness of another FedEx location "behind schedule." His plans are interrupted when his plane encounters a violent storm somewhere over the southern Pacific Ocean and crashes. In a highly dramatic and intense scene Noland barely escapes the crash and is left clinging for his life in a small raft. The screen fades to black and the only sound is that of the raging storm and the crash of unforgiving waves.

Chuck's raft eventually washes ashore on an island and Noland quickly discovers that not only is the island uninhabited; he is the only survivor of the crash. In a daze Noland sees that FedEx packages begin to wash up on the shore (he was flying on a FedEx cargo plane). He diligently collects and stores them. Along with the packages comes the body of one of the members of the flight crew. Chuck rushes to the floating body and when he comes upon the corpse he is stricken with terror to find the man dead. He respectfully buries the body and marks the grave accordingly.

Time passes and Chuck does his best to live in a place where time doesn't exist, in a place where he must fend for himself. He attempts to develop creative means of survival and signaling for help but eventually is forced to open all but one of the packages. In the parcels he discovers a variety of gifts and seemingly useless items but his creativity serves him well and he turns them all into useful tools. While not at all useful (in a practical sense) Noland opens a package containing a Wilson volleyball. In a scene that will forever live in cinematic fame Noland injures his hand and in a rage grabs and tosses the volleyball. When he retrieves the ball an almost perfect hand print remains, a print made in his own blood. Noland draws a face in the blood and a new character is born; Wilson. Eventually Chuck masters some of the basics of survival like how to properly open a coconut, how to start a fire, and how to collect food and water. Chuck even goes so far as to perform oral surgery on himself with the blade of an ice skate.

The screen fades to black once again and we return to Chuck four years later. We find him much thinner, sporting an impressive beard, and now a master of survival. He has taken the time to track the progression of the sun and thus developed a calendar. One day while he is out fishing the side of a portable toilet washes ashore. Chuck reacts to it as if it were a threat and we can see how far his mental faculties have departed. But they have not left him altogether for he suddenly realizes that he can use the sheet of plastic as a sail and can escape from the island. By now Wilson, who looks more like a rotten cantaloupe than a volleyball and is treated like Chuck's best friend, has become Chuck's chief counsel. Noland enters into great preparation and debate with Wilson about the raft and the date of their launch. Eventually "they" agree and Noland makes his daring attempt to return to society.

For those who have not seen the movie I simply can't go on any longer. No doubt most of you have experienced the tremendous challenge that "Cast Away" presents any movie-goer (for you must either love the beach or be able to look at Tom Hanks for three hours to enjoy it) and the sense of satisfaction found at the end of the film. For those who haven't may this review be enough to encourage you to go to the store, buy the movie, and watch it!

"Cast Away" required over five years of development from concept to screen. Shot on the island of Monuriki in the Mamanuca Islands (off the coast of Fiji) "Cast Away" is a treasure for the cinematic world as it displays Tom Hanks filling what very well could be considered the most intensive, demanding, and satisfying "method acting" role ever crafted for film. Hanks endured tremendous physical strain in an attempt to bring Noland's exile to life. To accommodate the changes Hanks would have to make the film was shot in two portions with one year in between so that Hanks would be able to lose the appropriate amount of weight, etc.

Of particular interest is the treatment of the film in post-production. Alan Silvestri (widely awarded for his brilliant and dramatic cinematic scoring) was awarded a Grammy in 2000 for the music he composed for "Cast Away." 'What music?!' You're right. After the plane crash there isn't a single musical note (save Hanks singing the Doors' "Light My Fire") until Hanks escapes the island. Zemeckis requested a subdued score to create a setting that would draw our attention to the natural surroundings. It worked.

Hanks was nominated for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe for his role in "Cast Away" but lost the Oscar due to the widespread triumph of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator." The film also received a nomination for Best Sound but once again lost to "Gladiator." It won a host of other awards but simply was unable to keep up at the Oscars. While "Gladiator" was more than worthy to receive the praise of the Academy many (including this critic) believe that "Cast Away" was overlooked.

My Rating: 8/10

The "Reel Revelation": "Time - Transformation - Task"

Today's "Revelation" is not so much about the film but about the extreme measures Tom Hanks took to fulfill the role of Chuck Noland in making him a believable character to watch on-screen. As mentioned above the film was shot in two portions; the first with Noland in Russia, America, and during his initial days and weeks on the island. Then production was suspended for 14 months while Hanks lost 40 pounds and toned his body to resemble that of an island survivor. When production resumed in 2000 to shoot the second portion of the film the Tom Hanks who appeared through the lens of the camera was a disturbingly accurate vision of what a man would look like after four years of survival on an uninhabited island. Very few actors can claim to have undergone such extreme measures to fulfill a role as demanding as those required of Tom Hanks to play Chuck Noland.

Let's say Zemeckis had chosen to shoot the movie all at once and, knowing he would need Hanks to resemble a man who had lived on an island for four years, called in the best make-up and special effects folks to apply their trade. Would the movie have succeeded? Would it have been as believable for the viewer? Even though Zemeckis is a director who has ridden the crest of the wave of cinematic technology and applied computer graphics to almost all of his top films the only answer we can offer is "No." The only way to achieve such believability was for Tom Hanks to commit himself to a year-long process of rigorous physical transformation. Even though most of us won't be asked or required to do something as drastic, God will call all of us into periods of transformation to complete the task of God's Kingdom.

- God's Time is perfect. We have all been in places and situations when we believed that things were happening out of sync with the real world. By "real world" I mean, of course, how we would like things to have unfolded. One of the most difficult truths of the Christian life is that even though we share a deep communion with the God of space and time we only ever see but a few feet in front of us as we gaze upon the road of life. Even though this may not seem at all a desirable way to live it keeps our focus on Jesus, the Way, rather than the bumpy path at our feet. But the unexpected will come and we will surely find ourselves challenged by God to do what he asks of us.

Perhaps you've been in a place very much like that, when God has thrown something at you and you were almost immediately expected to respond. Your voice scrapes the floor of Heaven as you shout "God! How can you expect me to do this?! I had no warning, no way of preparing!" Although your prayer is heartfelt there you stand, face-to-face with the unexpected and you must react. In some situations you may know exactly what to do in response to the demands of this world. But what if you don't know what to do, what if you can't accomplish the task set before you? You're in need of transformation.

- God's Transformation is necessary. Zemeckis and Hanks knew that if they were going to pull off the second-half of the movie Hanks had to undergo physical transformation to accomplish what had been laid before him. God is like the director of the "film" of our life, if you will. He knows exactly what we're capable of and what we need more practice at.

Let'ss say that you are capable of performing Task A, Task B, and Task C. Suddenly you are called upon to perform Task D. What?! You only know A, B, and C and are only capable of performing those three specific tasks. You can't trade our Task B for Task D...that's not how the game works. The only way you're going to overcome this challenge is to transform your triple-task oriented lifestyle to accommodate the ability to perform four tasks. How can it be done?! God will do it!

Do you remember the story of Moses, especially the part when he encounters God in the Burning Bush? Go to Exodus 3 and give it a quick read if you need to review. Here God commands Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of captivity and into the land of freedom promised them. How does Moses respond? "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" (NASB) Here's how Peterson puts it: "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Message) In other words Moses is saying "God, i'm an A, B, and C kinda guy. You're asking me to do Task D...i'm not cut out for that!" What does God do in response? He transforms Moses' life! Moses becomes an altogether different man and is empowered to complete Tasks A, B, C, D, and beyond. God can train even those who consider themselves beyond training for his divine and glorious tasks! Once you've come face to face with God's Timing, have gone through God's Transformation, there is but one thing to do...

- God's Task must be accomplished, and God is looking to you to help! Something many Christians struggle with is not understanding why God "needs" us to take the Gospel into the world; to share the love of Jesus with others. If Jesus is so powerful can't he just fly around the world and drop pamphlets to everyone who hasn't heard the Good News? He certainly can because he is the Son of God but the Bible is clear; we are a part of God's mission on Earth. We are an active element in working to complete God's great task in this world. Not only has God given us gifts to help us accomplish this great goal but he has sent the Holy Spirit to empower us daily to do all that we can to spread the Good News. So let's break this down one final time:
- Time - Whenever God sees fit to challenge us or take us to a new place, then that's the time to respond! If we're not able to accomplish the task laid before us, some form of transformation is necessary.
- Transformation - We are constantly growing and evolving as people, so we also grow and evolve with regard to the set of skills and gifts we exercise in this life. If God is going to set us out to accomplish a task that requires a skill outside of our skill set, God will transform us until we can perform that specific task and more!
- Task - Finally when the transformation is complete we enter in and complete the work of God. Here we may also experience great adversity but we are encouraged by the Holy Spirit to press in and work with a divine fervor to see the will of God (that most mysterious and righteous task) accomplished here on Earth.

A long one today, but I hope it is worthwhile for your life.

See you tomorrow - E.T.