I happened to watch this movie on Star Movies and I liked it so much that I just couldn’t miss its repeat telecast.
The only reason for watching it for the first time was Tom Hanks. But as I found out the movie had very good storyline and screenplay which gives the actor ample scope to display his fine acting skills. Its story is far different from the ’Robinson Crusoe’ types. Only the common thread is that the protagonist gets caught on a deserted island. No wild animals or cannibals around. It deals with the emotions of a man on a deserted piece of land.
The story can be split in three phases.
1. Tom Hanks as a FED-EX executive :
This guy is tied to the clock. He is meticulous and passionate about his work and dearly loves his wife (Helen Hunt). While on an assignment, his plane dips in the ocean, but he manages to survive the crash, while the two pilots get killed. (This was to hard to digest, but I guess, it was a cinematic liberty which had to be taken to build a story. The plane-crash scene is one of the best disaster scenes ever shot. It looked so convincing!)
2. Tom Hanks on a virgin island:
When he discovers himself on a lonely island, he makes all possible attempts to rescue himself. This part is handled very creatively. He cries for help, he writes ’HELP’ on the sand..but it gets washed by the ocean waves. So he writes ’HELP’ by placing wood on the sand! Finally, he realises that either he has got to survive or perish in the hope of help. So there begins his attempts for survival. Here?s what he?s got for survival.
1> Food: He’s got coconuts, which will also quench his thirst. He somehow finds a technique to open these coconuts and store water in them as reserve.
But soon he’s bored of coconuts. So he tries fishing.But uncooked fish tastes awful. So he needs fire.He tries to light a fire in a primitive way by creating friction with wood. He hurts himself but never gives up and after several attempts he creates ’FIRE’! He feels his triumped over nature, such is his joy. So seafood and coconuts become his staple food.
2> Shelter: He manages to find a cave to dwell in which he talks to his virtual wife which is in the form of a volley-ball. He finds this volley ball through one of the FED-EX parcels floating in the sea. He makes a face on the ball which has imprints of his palm which were caused when he slapped the ball by his wounded hand in sheer frustration.
3> Hope: Hope is what drives him to live. His virtual wife (volley ball) is with him always. He?s got great sentimental values attached to this ball. He is hopeful of some help coming in near future.
After trying unsuccessfully to cross the waves, he is shattered and his hopes start fading away. For 4 years he lives a life of a recluse. But in the meantime he prepares a master plan of crossing the mighty waves. He studies the wind patterns, the tide timings, applies the laws of physics for building a boat and estimates the distance and direction in which he will have to travel. Once all this is done, he hurls himself into the ocean with his wife (ball). He manages to cross the mighty waves and the wind gives him a sail into the ocean. Another triumph for him over the forces of nature. Finally, he is rescued by a US Marine ship.
3.Tom Hanks after returning to his mainland. The third phase deals with the feelings of a man who’s lived 4 years on the island and coming home. Everything has changed for him, even his wife?s got second marriage. When Tom goes to see his wife, she is shocked to see him and explains about how much she loves him. She even explains the efforts made by the rescue team to help him, but left one area unexplored, which was the island where Tom stayed!
Tom notices the easy accessibility of certain things which made him slog on the island like lighting of the fire or seeing good food around.
This is a very unusual film, which has only one central character. Tom Hanks should be applauded for playing it with such conviction. Be it his role as a FED EX executive
or a man trying to survive or a man returning to normal life, he essays them superbly. Noteworthy are the scenes on the island where he tries to light a fire or
break a coconut. Tom Hanks’ antics actually make you laugh, but at the same time make you sympathize with his plight. I had read somewhere that Tom had practically shed a lot of weight for this role He was put on a special weight loss programme under strict monitoring of experts who ensured that he didn’t debilitate while losing weight. Now that?s commitment for you. I know only Nasseruddin Shah who changes weight according to characters!
The film moves at a good pace. Some may find it boring, because it hardly has any conversations. It is almost a silent film. But for me, it was therapeutic experience watching the film. The sound of the waves, the feel of the island, and the background score by James Horner gave me a soothing feeling. For a change here’s a movie which is devoid of some heavy jarring music or insane dialogues.
This film evokes a question in one’s mind.
What will happen if, one day, we were deprived of all the modern amenities and luxuries, people around us or even our daily routine? How will we survive without them?
This film is an attempt to delve into the psyche of one such man who answers the question.