Cast Away (2000)

Tom Hanks is a great actor. Sure, Chuck Noland is a character that he has played before, an every man, but Chuck suffers from a tragic twist.
He is a FedEx man, traveling around the globe to improve efficiency. Directly after Christmas, just as he is about to propose to his long-term girlfriend, Kelly (Helen Hunt), he is involved in a terrible plane crash. The other four men die, he eventually finds the body and buries him.
He does make it to an abandoned island that has no crops other than coconut. He survives there for four years, and nothing comes easy. He suffers from some nasty injuries. But the joy on his face when he creates fire is one of pure emotion. Before he leaves, a tooth is bothering him, so when he is on the island, is forced to become inventive. Several packages washed ashore with him, including some ice skates, which he uses to cut out his tooth. But there is also a volleyball, and that he becomes his best friend, the only person he can talk to.
It isn't until a part of a porta potty washes ashore when he truly becomes determined to leave the island. He braids rope together to hold the logs into place on his raft and sets out, with Wilson in toe. Wilson survives crashing waves and a storm, but the videocassette tape just can't hold him any longer and Chuck is devastated.
And then he returns to society. Kelly has moved on, she married this dentist (Chris Noth) who performed a root canal on Chuck before the crash. She also has a little girl. Though she still loves Chuck, and admits it and he still loves her in return, he knows that he must let her go.
He ends the film with returning this one package that he didn't open, one with a beautiful set of hand painted wings. But the owner isn't there, so he just leaves the package only to run into the owner while he is struggling to find a path to take. He doesn't know where his life is headed which is entirely new for him.
Hanks carries the film as he is on screen for the vast majority of it. He is fantastic. Hunt is good too, though her role is small.
I have very few problems with the film, but one is that Hunt should have had more screen time, especially since she is billed above the title. They should have gone back to Memphis after receiving the word that Chuck hadn't made it to his destination. I would have liked to have seen that. And then she picks Chris Noth over Tom Hanks, I mean Chris Noth cheated on Juliana Marguiles, who does that? I know, I'm mixing up my pop culture. Still, Hanks is better than Noth any day of the week.
That being said, the film is realistic, Hanks grows out his beard and hair and loses tons of weight for the role. I also liked the camera angles, especially the one in the beginning which is from the point of view of a package. Grade: A-