Cast Away

Impressions before seeing it
Wow, it took me like ten years to see this movie. I thought it looked interesting at the time and Tom Hanks is a talented actor very much capable of carrying a film, but I think I wasn't around when my parents rented it.

How was it?
I think some of the most interesting movies are the ones with the least amount of dialogue. Obviously when you have a man isolated on an island he isn't going to do much talking (although he did some - more on that in a moment) so everything other than dialogue is needed to get the point across. I think the real selling point of this movie is not watching how our hero survives on his own, but watching his transformation and his journey, how much it changes someone to be isolated for a long period of time and then suddenly reintegrated into society. Also the plane crash scene looked cool. I like when they show crazy vehicle accidents from the inside because it makes such a big impact, as if you were involved too.

Now, Cast Away is also famous for being (I think) the first movie to make a celebrity out of an inanimate object. I am of course talking about Wilson the volleyball. I assume this happened as a kind of joke because audiences found it so funny that Tom Hanks spent the better part of a movie making friends with sports equipment (there are skates, too!), and it is funny, but it's also a little sad. However I wouldn't say his character went crazy. In fact he was talking to Wilson as a way to maintain his sanity. Everyone needs someone to talk to sometimes, and sure, talking to inanimate objects is loopy, but being alone and having no conversation at all makes a person go even loopier. As sad as it is, Wilson really was his best friend and played a key role in his survival.

Recommendation
It can be very slow and quiet, but sometimes I like that in a movie. The survival part may interest some.