Time
Passes...
Chuck Nolan
(Hanks) is a relentlessly determined FedEx
employee who travels the globe fixing problems
and racing the clock. He, like his business,
lives and dies by time. The love of his life is
Kelly Frears (Hunt) who tolerates his hectic
schedule but obviously feels lonely when he's
gone. One Christmas night, during a big family
dinner, Chuck's beeper pulls him away from the
table and he is told he has to fly to Malaysia.
After a sad Airport goodbye to his girl, and a
promise to be back for New Years Eve, Chuck
boards the flight that will change his life
forever.
Somewhere over the Pacific the FedEx plane loses
radio contact during a violent storm. From
inside the plane we see the problems escalate
and soon a crash landing is imminent. I will
leave most of the details to your future movie
watching experience... but, as I am sure you
know, Chuck is washed ashore on a tiny deserted
Island in the south Pacific. What we get then is
a glimpse into the life of a solitary man,
without time, without conversation, without
comfort, and without much hope.
This is a film about time. It is about how time
changes us, our priorities, our goals, and our
perspectives. Tom Hanks is the key to the film,
occupying nearly half of the film by himself
with no one to talk to. His transformation from
the driven executive, full of life and vigor, to
the gaunt shell of a man who does what he needs
to do to survive is a staggering one. The film
was shot in two halves, a year apart, as Hanks
lost a ton of weight, and grew his hair and
beard. The physical transformation is as
startling and the psychological one.
The scenes on the island are a great contrast
from the scenes in the setup. The islands shots
are calm and quiet, only the sounds of the ocean
and the occasional mysterious noise from the
tress can be heard. The matter-of-fact way
Zemeckis has shot the middle third of the film
works well. We see the simple difficulties of
surviving without tools, fire, fresh water, and
light. The way Chuck uses the washed ashore
material to his advantage are ingenious and, in
a strange way, very funny. You would think that
ice skates would be useless, or for that matter
video cassettes... think again.
A flash forward of four years takes us to the
persevering Chuck who has mastered island life
and...
***SPOILER ALERT***
...we see his
eyes light up as an escape from the island seems
possible. The way in which the escape is handled
is wonderful. Chuck and his pretend friend,
Wilson the Volleyball, journey back on to the
high seas in one last attempt to live. Some of
the most beautiful and breathtaking scenes occur
as Chuck and Wilson brave the tides and weather
in search of freedom.
***END of
SPOILER***
The resolution is hard to explain without giving
everything away. But I will say this, it is
handled with care. We don't get a fake sappy
ending which would probably have pleased more
viewers. We are instead treated to a strong and
unrelenting vision of how time changes
everything. The film teaches us that all we can
do is breath and get up every morning. Time has
its own plan and we have to live by its harsh
reality sometimes. Chuck is reintroduced into a
world he doesn't know anymore, and HE has to
adjust... the world won't adjust for him.
Nothing is quite as he dreamt it would be and
that is a refreshing ending to a story that
could have had a routine and predictable one.
The soundtrack is not very moving for an epic of
this nature. For most of the island scenes,
there is no music at all, a very conscious
decision by the filmmakers. What little there is
sounds flat. In fact the same piece of music is
looped over and over and quite frankly it loses
the effect.
I could have used more island material. The film
is already two and a half hours long, but it
could have used thirty minutes more to highlight
the hardships during Chuck's ordeal.
A few scenes at the end, between Hanks and Hunt,
were forced and unnatural and could have been
trimmed in favor of more island time. Although
Hanks' performance is Oscar worthy, Hunt is a
little dull in a role I've seen her do in other
films.
To say this film is very good is an
understatement, but to say it is masterpiece is
going too far. It has all the strengths of a
great motion picture and will certainly make my
top ten list for the 2000 year.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
This is not
my favorite Tom Hanks film to watch...in fact,
there were moments when I saw "tom hanks"
instead of his character. Still, I thought this
was a bold movie to make for him. I love Helen
Hunt, but I didn't care for her performance in
this one.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
The
unstoppable team of Robert Zemeckis and Tom
Hanks strike again and hit a home run.
Hanks delivers yet another incredible
performance as a Fed-Ex executive who works more
than he spends time with his wife (Helen Hunt).
While on a plane, a storm strikes, and he is the
only survivor of the plane crash. He spends the
next four years stranded on a deserted island
with only a volley ball for a friend and only
his instinct to keep him alive.
Very powerful and very moving. I could not help
shed a tear more than once during the movie.
Hanks gives one of his best performances and
perfectly conveys the loneliness and heartbreak
that his character is going through.
I wish that Zemeckis would direct more films.
That would make sure that everyone experiences a
truly great filmgoing experience more often.
