Cast Away- A Review

We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over “nothing”. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring? Chuck Noland, Cast Away

The movie Cast Away is one of the foremost among the genre called survival movie, a genre in which the main plot surrounds around a hero/heroine who is in a struggle for survival. In the movie, the hero Chuck Noland is an employee in FedEx. He is in a relationship when the movie begins. The action turns into a new dimension when the hero’s plane crashed and he landed in a lonely island. After a gap of some years, he reaches back to his home town safely.

First and foremost, Cast Away is a survival movie. In this genre, the plot goes around a single individual, here Chuck Noland. Mostly, other characters are insignificant, or will get only very few roles. One classic example will be Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe. Though it cannot be considered as an essential feature, absence of strong female characters can also be seen in these kinds of movies. In Cast Away also, the heroine gets only little bit of importance. When the psychological struggle of the hero gets more focus, the same mental struggle of the heroine is limited to one or two scenes. In other words, the hero is one who faces a real challenge, and overcome all these hazards with a strong will power, which is rare or even beyond human abilities, the heroine is submissive and accepts the suggestions of the society and marries another man due to social pressure ( in this movie). Therefore, we can say that the movie is ‘his’ struggle rather than ‘hers.’

Is it possible for someone to survive in a lonely island without human contact and nothing to eat? The answer depends on how we see the world. A normal man would consider it impossible to live without the help of anyone. Some others feel that if we have a strong will power and the help of god, anything is possible. However, living alone in an island without any connection with the ‘real world’ is impossible, in my opinion. A person, who gets into a totally unfamiliar world, a lonely island or in any other foreign place, cannot easily adapt to the newer changes. He will always try to analyze and contrast this alien/dream world with his ‘real world’. For this, he needs something to connect with his real world, an image, a photo or anything, to constantly reminds him of his real world where he can go back at once. This totem is very much important for remaining sane in this other world. In the movie, the football which Noland names as Mr. Wilson becomes his true companion.

Mr. Wilson helps his to connect with the real world, but once the hero arrives to his home town safely, this totem is no longer relevant. That’s why Mr. Wilson disappears in the sea when the hero goes back.

The movie is significant in other respects also. As discussed earlier, the movie is about ‘his story’. It is the story of a man who overcomes all the difficulties but finally becomes victorious. In other words, “it is possible, or everything is possible” if we have a mind to achieve it. The movie is the celebration of individual success, a success no one can thwart.