My favorite scene from “Cast Away “ is actually more of a
moment than an actual scene. That moment occurs right after Chuck Noland
manages to escape the island on the raft he built. It’s when he’s rowing
further away and looking back at the island that slowly fades away behind the
fog and the waves. It’s the point of no return for the character and what makes
it even more interesting for me is that I always get the feeling that there is
some nostalgia sinking in as he escapes. For better or for worse that place was
his home for 4 long years. A place where he rediscovered himself. Where life as
he knew is changed in almost every way.
It’s a moment filled with layers and, for me, extremely emotional.
Because he has passed the point of no return and his destiny is out of his
control, the stress and pressure seem to disappear and the film reflects that
by showing us very calm seas and weather seconds later as the sequence
continues and the film slowly breaks into its third act. There are many
metaphors in this scene and in the entire film for that matter. Cast Away is
one Robert Zemeckis’ finest achievements to date as is Tom Hank’s performance.
I still cannot believe he lost the academy award. In case you’re wondering it
was for Kevin Spacey who won for “American Beauty”.
There is another very crucial detail to mention about this
scene. It is the very first time we hear Alan Silvestri’s beautiful score
slowly emerging and it starts at that exact moment when Chuck is looking back
at the Island. Up until then Zemeckis did not resort to any music to carry any
scene whatsoever. We are talking about around 96 minutes of film. An hour and a
half into the film before you hear anything resembling score. The only music
you hear before that is source music in the opening sequence in Russia. Meaning
it’s music part of the environment and sound effects not the score. It makes
this first appearance of the main theme that much more powerful and
significant. It hits a crucial emotional cue. It emphasizes all the points I
made earlier about the character’s turning point and essentially the film’s
turning point. Not to mention it’s one of Alan Silvestri’s most beautiful
themes. So simple yet so effective.
So there you go. My favorite scene from “Cast Away”? What
about you? Do you have a favorite scene? Let me know in the comments below.
Catch you soon.
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