Hanks Deserves Another Oscar Nod with "Cast Away"

In Tom Hanks new film “Cast Away,” Hanks plays a Fed-Ex deliveryman named Chuck Noland whose Christmas celebration is cut short when he is called into work during Christmas dinner. On his way to the airport, Chuck gives his girlfriend Kelly Frears (Academy-award winning actress Helen Hunt) an engagement ring, telling her an answer wasn’t needed just then, but on New Year’s Eve when he returns. As he kisses Kelly good-bye to board the plane, he tells her those fated words… “I’ll be right back.”

Just like a horror movie, those words doom Hanks character. A few hours after boarding the plane, it crashes into the ocean. Everyone on the plane dies in the accident, except for Chuck who gets washed onto a deserted island later that night. With no shelter, no food and no clothing, it looks like it will be only a matter of time before Chuck joins the others aboard that plane.

Instead, Chuck sticks it out for four years, waiting for help to come. When it never does, Chuck decides to chance the ocean in front of him by trying to make his way back home and into the arms of the one person who kept him alive on that island, his inspiration Kelly. When he does make it back, however, Chuck finds out that life has gone on without him… and Kelly has moved on as well.

Working alongside director Robert Zemeckis once again, Hanks proves to us all why he is known as the Academy Awards’ pet. He plays the character of Chuck brilliantly, using a rollercoaster of emotions to illustrate his journey on the island. Although Hanks has little to say throughout the film, his emotions and actions do all the talking he needs. We see how much he misses Kelly by the fact he stares at her picture in the moonlight every night, and by the drawings he does on the nearby cave wall of his soul mate. We see Chuck think of how he is going to survive out in the wild without him telling us what he is going to do aloud. The audience also gets to see what Chuck goes through when he returns to civilization, and how nature has changed him and his outlook on life forever. Few actors could pull off the role of Chuck the way Hanks does, and it should be of no surprise if he ends up with another gold statuette for his work come this March.

Go To Page: 1 2