Cast Away

Cast Away is a 2000 film by 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks about a FedEx employee who is stranded on a deserted island after his plane goes down over the South Pacific. It is unusual in modern cinema in that during most of the movie there is only one human character. Tom Hanks would go on to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance.

Plot synopsis

In the opening scene, a FedEx truck rolls under a large sign reading "Dick & Bettina" to a ranch-style Texas residence where the driver takes for delivery a FedEx package marked with a custom logo in the form of angels' wings. These wings are also seen as freestanding sculptures on the property and inside out-buildings. The woman sending the package, an artist in a welder's suit, tells the driver she will have another one for him to take that coming Thursday. The audience sees the package delivered all the way to a residence in Moscow, Russia, to a man in a cowboy hat and robe. A Russian woman who is with the man, apparently on intimate terms, asks, "Who is it from?" He replies, "My wife."

The film then cuts to Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a highly efficient FedEx executive, as he attempts to improve the performance of FedEx's Moscow branch. After imploring the Russian employees to live by the clock, Chuck returns to the U.S. (Tennessee) where he is trying to guide a relationship with his girlfriend Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) toward marriage. It is obvious that Chuck's harried professional life with FedEx is making his relationship with Kelly difficult to sustain. Their Christmas together is interrupted by Chuck being called on a last minute business trip. He and Kelly exchange gifts in the Jeep on the way to the FedEx hub, Kelly giving him a family heirloom pocket watch containing a photo of herself, and Chuck giving her a number of joke presents (hand towels, a journal) before solemnly offering her an engagement ring. He tells her to wait until he gets back on New Year's Eve to open it, and walks off to the FedEx jet saying, "I'll be right back".

While flying through a thunderstorm somewhere over the southern Pacific Ocean, Chuck's flight goes disastrously wrong and crashes into the nighttime sea in flames. Saved by an inflatable liferaft, Chuck floats helplessly on the ocean until he is brought to a deserted island. Unfortunately for Chuck, the canister that was supposed to stay attached to the raft containing the search-and-rescue beacon that would be needed to help rescue him, was caught in the wreckage of the aircraft, and was left behind as Chuck floated to the surface.

After ascertaining the island is uninhabited, Chuck's most immediate need is drinking water, which he satisfies by drinking coconut water and later by storing rain water in the discarded husks. His second immediate need is shelter, which he secures by draping his raft over palmtree trunks and, later, by discovering small caves in the island rock. The third task is food. He attempts to fish, but is wholly unsuccessful at the start. As time progresses, his fishing skills increase.

A short time later, the body of one of the flight crew also washes up. Having been without shoes since removing them while on the plane, Chuck takes the pilot's too-small shoes and dons them after cutting out the toes, creating sandals. Chuck also finds a small pocket flashlight amongst the pilot's possessions. Chuck then buries the pilot in a shallow grave, showing respect by covering the man's face with a life jacket. He also scratches a primitive headstone into a rock facing that rises above the grave.