ROBERT ZEMECKIS

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 2000.  Twentieth Century Fox, DreamWorks, ImageMovers, Playtone.  Screenplay by William Broyles Jr..  Cinematography by Don Burgess.  Produced by Tom Hanks, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis.  Music by Alan Silvestri.  Production Design by Rick Carter.  Costume Design by Joanna Johnston.  Film Editing by Arthur Schmidt.  

Tom Hanks‘ amazing performance is the best reason to watch this excellent drama.  The second of two films Robert Zemeckis made in the year 2000 (the other being What Lies Beneath) this is a worthwhile tale of a Federal Express supervisor stranded on a deserted island for four years after his company’s plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Helen Hunt plays the devoted girlfriend who doesn’t know to wait for him back home. The film is painfully missing a middle, so once the scenes of isolation are (quickly) over, one is led to believe that Hanks’ readjustment to the so-called normal society back home is really the heart of the story. Sadly, this aspect of the plot is also underdeveloped, leaving a good movie that doesn’t quite know what it’s about, yet the whole thing is very entertaining to watch.

Academy Award Nominations:  Best Actor (Tom Hanks); Best Sound

Golden Globe Award:  Best Actor-Drama (Tom Hanks)

Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination:  Best Actor (Tom Hanks)