Agreed. And not too long ago someone brought up the theory that she was going to leave him anyway before he crashed and was stranded. They brought up several good points to support that theory.

Even so, the last hour is a gut-punch for me and my wife both.

I'd like to hear this theory.

I could probably watch this move like once a week

> the theory that she was going to leave him anyway

Funny because I just watched it for the first time in a long time, and I could totally see that being the case. I had never noticed before. But I definitely picked up on Kelly’s understandable dissatisfaction this time. Maybe it’s the wisdom of years.

I’m gonna watch Flight now. Bobby Z is great at plane crashes!

I'll see if I can find it. I read and watch so many different things in the hour or two before bed I can't specifically remember right now. I'll respond to your comment if I can find it.

Oh that's okay. Thank you though.

Include me please. I'm intrigued

I'm looking for it now. So frustrating that I cannot remember exactly where I saw it, especially since it was not that long ago.

No worries. I'm the same way. I'll go down a rabbit hole so deep I lose track, and then I can't find my way back until I least expect it lol

The scene with Hanks with his glass with ice in his hand talking to his buddy gets me every time.

Different things grab me every time but yes the scene you’re talking about hit me hard when I watched it for the first time in the theater 22 years ago. Love that “the sun will rise” quote. Great scene.

I love this movie. It's just that good. I actually do consider it extremely underrated. Of all the movies Tom Hanks gets credit for (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, etc), I don't think a lot of people consider this movie to be one of the bests of the 90s.

The 90s produced some of the greatest movies ever made, IMO. No one will ever say that Cast Away is as good as...say Shawshank Redemption. I will. I will say Cast Away is just as good as Shawshank Redemption.

I’m sure this is weird, but what a pleasant and understanding comment to see on reddit.

“That’s okay. Thank you, though.”

Just stumbling upon this, I appreciate it so much. You seem like a lovely and wonderful person.

I think that scene and the message it conveyed is why many of us rewatched it during Covid lockdown a few years ago.

My problem with the movie, is that I wanted to see his first interactions with the rescue crew, but they jumped right past that to the airport

The things I noticed this time were little things like when they were at that family Christmas dinner Kelly catches Chuck glancing at his pager instead of being present with the family. And then they’re working on scheduling important things like being together for New Year’s Eve and for Kelly’s dissertation. Chuck’s job still seems to be the priority for him, though. Not the relationship. Just subtle facial expressions and timing gave me the idea this time that Kelly might not be down for that.

Edit to add: I just read a couple of the other links in the comments suggesting Kelly was having an affair.

Really interesting how they place the blame on Kelly for betraying Chuck, whereas my read this time was more blaming Chuck for not prioritizing Kelly.

Of course it’s all subtext since none of this is made explicit. I like the ambiguity and complexity. I guess we see what we want to see or what we’re prepared to see.

And it’s a good story either way.

I was like 7 years old when I saw the trailer in 1995. I watched the movie 2 years ago and I still knew everything that was going to happen because the trailer spoiled the whole thing so good.

I’ll agree with you. Tom Hanks is great in Cast Away. He has the perfect nice, regular guy demeanor that nothing bad could ever happened to him. And when something bad does happen, he’s incredibly vulnerable but you can still really believe the strength that helps him push through to survive.

Also it’s not technically 90s. Came out December 2000! Had to check.

I have a Wilson in my back yard, wedged between the palm tree. I put old palm leaves as his hair.

Love this movie.

Damn. You're right. It did come out in 2000.

I think that scene is in Captain Phillip. (just kidding)

he hit me with his bike eight times don’t trust this conniving bitch

It’s still great though. I just watched it knowing everything that happens and it still wrecked me.

I am the Wilson now

I guess it’s not as old as people think! Somebody else in this comment thread just said they saw a trailer for it in 1995. I don’t think so!

It didn’t really hit me the first time I saw it but it hit me hard the last time I watched it. When he’s driving at the end of the movie you can see stuff in the front seat next to him. In that seat is a new Wilson volleyball! That made me so sad for him that he couldn’t get past that part.

Yeah...looking back on it, Hanks was on a roll. He made some amazing movies in the 90s and had collaborated with Robert Zemeckis a couple of times and I think I just blurred Forrest Gump and Cast Away.

Very well said. It is such a contemplative film, especially at the end. Some of the final scenes are utterly heartbreaking, but the film also leaves you with a sense of hope and inspiration.

Also, Tom Hanks's acting in some of the final scenes is the best acting I've ever seen. I'm thinking specifically of the scene where he's supposed to be meeting Helen Hunt's character but her husband shows up instead. The emotion that is communicated by his face alone is almost bringing me to tears just thinking about it.

One of my absolute favourites!

I happened to just watch this a few nights ago:

https://youtu.be/R_m1mfu3XlY

I found this story that covers several of the points.

I also read someplace that their goodbye kiss just before his fateful flight was more like siblings than lovers. As in, she turns her head to the side so he kisses her cheek instead of her lips.

I appreciate it, but thinking about it was eating at me and I had to try. :)

I found this story that covers several of the points.

I also read someplace that their goodbye kiss just before his fateful flight was more like siblings than lovers. As in, she turns her head to the side so he kisses her cheek instead of her lips.

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I've watched a lot of these videos with these fan theories and it's a lot of projecting.

They're kind of toxic and makes me to believe a lot of them have trust issues with women.

Yeah that's the only gripe I have with the movie but I guess it's understandable. It doesn't seem very long because the story is so engaging but it's 2 hour and 28 minutes, at a certain point you just gotta trim the fat from the script. And a scene with his rescuers probably wouldn't have accomplished anything that the scene onboard the private jet talking with his old friend/colleague didn't.

That film breaks me every time. I basically don’t stop sobbing from Wilson scene until the end. Such great performances and shows you what good actors can do with less over the top dialogue.

> I basically don’t stop sobbing from Wilson scene until the end.

This was me a couple of hours ago.

Flight helped me figure out that I needed to go to rehab. I've been sober for 8 years now.

That’s wonderful to hear. You’ve been brave.

The scene where he goes to her house. The kitchen discussion.. He was stranded for so long and now he's in his wife's kitchen, but it's not their house. That was really sobering.

He really handled it like a champ though.

Poetic

Thank you so much. I'll read this. Their reunion in the rain always gets me.

One of my absolute favorites; really hoping it gets a 4k release some day!

“I have ice in my glass.”

Yeah. It's projecting. At no moment had I thought that she was about to leave him. There's a lot in the movie to prove otherwise. Giving a family heirloom to someone you are about to dump? Come on. Plus, after 4 years she kept so many things from Chuck. It can't be guilt, because you can feel guilty because someone you were going to dump vanishes, but after a year you kind of forget. But holding on to the Grand Cherokee, the towels and remembering what type of milk he liked with his coffee is not something you hold on to out of guilt.

I made a thread on here a while back about some of the lesser known movie scores that are super emotional, and the Cast Away end credits music is so moving. Love it!

Seeing that film as a child in the theater was a crazy experience

Yeah! Alan Silvestri kinda plagiarized himself—the music in Avengers: Endgame near the beginning when Tony is near death in the spaceship, is very similar to the Cast Away theme.

To me the little thing that breaks me is when Helen Hunt, so matter-of-factly says "I only have 2% not half and half, that that's what you like", remebering such a mundane little detail about the type of milk he used to have in his coffee. To me that's love in its purest form and breaks me every single time. She held on those little memories.

To me the scene that wrecks me is when Helen Hunt says so matter-of-factly "Sorry, I only have 2% and not half and half which is what you like". She remembers such a mundane little detail about the type of milk he took with his coffee. That's the purest form of love. Fuck, she should just divorce

That article was just fanfic. There was nothing on the "having an affair" end that the movie showed and the article mentioned.

Yes, I love the end of this film. It is beautiful and heartbreaking the way the world has moved on and he doesn't fit back in but there is hope as he drives off to something new.

For me it’s the now husband and how’s he’s trying to deal with the situation and we’re like “fuck you!” But also he’s just trying his best to not lose his wife to a guy that should be fucking dead

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I have to rewatch this film. I've gotten older and take a lot more joy in trying to interpret what a director was going for.

Just rewatched the final scene. He literally ends the film at a crossroads?! A literal crossroads! And the road the girl travels is the unpaved one that's less traveled. Gods. Did I just not think about this stuff when I was younger?

He owned the 90s. You were always wondering what Tom Hanks would make next.

I remember getting so mad at Helen Hunt when I first watched it years ago. So mad, lol.

"She's fucking awful! HOW could she?!"

Then I watch it later and it's just sad because she deserves a life, too. Her partner disappearing doesn't mean she has to become a nun or perma-sad recluse. She also went through a tough time. Not the same by any means but she had to bury the guy without the body and then fell for their dentist (or whoever the fuck he was, I don't recall). The only part that still bugs me is how he came in to talk to Hanks as opposed to her, like he's trying to boss-up on him a bit in a passive aggressive way. Afraid she'll leave him, etc.

But I was SO mad on first view.

He was trying to give the items back to the people they were intended for. He replaced Wilson for them, not for him.

To put the shoe on the other foot, I'd say calling it projection is to not respect women's needs or see the emotions presented in front of you.

Chuck was a workaholic not present in the relationship. When he called, he would talk about work and about himself. Kelly seemed sad. That slow stare then smile when photocopying seemed like hard work. When together, Chuck fell asleep during the movie. When at the Christmas meal, she again looked really sad. He'd been dragging ass on marrying her and when giving her the "gag" gift of a pager, she didn't seem surprised. When given the "not open in the car" present, she seemed more horrified than happy and her first reaction is to shake her head. Essentially proposing and immediately leaving without an answer is quite the red flag... who would do that?

It's the sort of relationship where when the woman finally says it's over, the man says "but I thought everything was great?!" because he was so self-absorbed. The confounding factor is Hanks, he's just so lovably affable we naturally forgive him anything but if it was a less likeable actor it would be less ambiguous.

edit: if you read the script it's even more overt. Kelly straight up says to Chuck "This isn't working out" and the direction is "This is not a happy woman he is leaving behind.". The last thing she says is "Chuck, you're breaking my heart" .

Cast Away didn't come out in the 90s though.

I find it unlikely that he'd remember the names and addresses from the packages that he tore open years prior.

Also, when he's rescued and he's having a drink on the airplane he's drinking Dr. Pepper. A little nod to Forrest Gump.

You literally see him meticulously keeping the address labels in the movie. It’s part of who he was. The package must be delivered! Look again at the items he has. He’s literally delivering one of the packages to the ranch in the final scene.

I'm not convinced that that was the intended message, getting another chance at better life, who knows what happens / what the tide brings. Because he literally gets it - the package he decides not to open - and doesn't use it. Yes, he "uses" it later, but he couldn't have known whether it's better for him to use it immediately, later, or never.

It's all just random decisions and luck; he could have decided to open all packages, or not open three or five of them instead of one. It doesn't mean anything.

If there is a message, then I guess it's something like that one should try to be clever and find solutions, like Mark Watney. And everyone makes errors and bad decisions occasionally.

And then she opens up the package and there is a satellite phone and batteries in it. Gets me every time.

What always annoyed me about Castaway, it's a minor detail, but glaring. When Tom Hank's character returns from the island and is in that hotel room, he's uncomfortable sleeping on a bed so he sleeps on the floor, however, he is comfortable with wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt to bed???

Come. On.

I always remember the movie having a scene where after he gets rescued there is a big buffet of food and it’s all seafood like crab legs and he looks at it like “really??”

He was probably work-obsessed.

Which happens

Yeah, but by not opening it, it kept him motivated to survive and deliver the package.

I saw it in the theaters and like most theater experiences. I was annoyed with everyone else around me because when he was crying for Wilson, my theater started laughing. 

These kinds of things are funny to write and think about but they are bad film analysis.

Kelly didn't cheat on Chuck because it makes no thematic sense for this to happen and be kept hidden from the audience.

It's bad as film analysis but it also doesn't really make sense factually.

>Four months have passed since the crash, and two years pass from the first date to their wedding date. Two years! Two years seems like an awfully short turnaround for a woman to be married when she’s not even sure if her fiancé is still alive or not.

A quick Google search tells me:

>By 25 months after the spouse's death 61% of men and 19% of women were either remarried or involved in a new romance.
>
>Younger age was a predictor of becoming involved in a new romance for women.

This is for all ages and younger people are more likely to be in a relationship so the actual odds of "this woman" (who it needs to be said, is a fictional creation) are at least higher than 20%.

It's projection because it's a movie. It's not real.

The movie is about a guy who does not appreciate life. This lack of appreciation for life almost literally costs him his own life. He survives, and is reborn, but he nonetheless figuratively loses his past life, because people had to move on. That is the tragic element of it.

If Helen Hunt was going to dump him because he was a workaholic then there's no need for the movie at all!

It's one of my favorite movies. I love the ending.

Thanks for posting this theory. I have never liked the movie , so giving it that much thought seems unusual. I found both lead characters to be unpleasant to be around. Didn't care what happened to either of them.

I liked how they avoided a bullshit ending where Hanks and Hunt got back together at the end. Instead, she stayed with her husband--who also recognized and respected his wife's feelings at the awful tragedy that had taken place. In other words, actual mature adults doing mature things in a terrible situation.

Im my opinion it was a bad film.

That scene reminds me of flying over dry African landscapes in 2001, on my way to the Zambia eclipse, holding a real glass glass that wouldn't be available when flying in my country. An unnatural aspect to a usually-normal object can catch you off guard.

I was ten when this movie came out, my mom took me and her boyfriend to see it.

Being ten the first bit was kind of boring adult stuff. After that it was one of the most interesting movies I watched. I couldn't believe there was so much going on with just one dude on an island.

I should watch it again!

"Thank you for saving me! Dude, did you see that fucking whale?"

If you wanna hear an interesting dive into the movie, look up the podcast The Rewatchables with Bill Simmons. It’s super interesting about the use of music and a lot of other things

People down voting must not have seen the edit

You just gave me new perspective on a scene that has helped me through some of the darkest parts of my life....

It hadn't occurred to me that, "we have to leave behind the things we clung to in our desperation."

And here I am, 31 years old still clutching my Wilson and refusing to let him go. Relationships are suffering because of it. When I hadn't even realized that this thing of mine and the bond I have with it were formed out of pure desperation.

Thank you.

Somehow they made an inanimate volleyball feel like a character.

Except for the movie setting up all the stuff about Chuck's life so that he appreciates what he lost.

Also the comment is right. Read the script https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://cemp.ac.uk/scriptzone/script.php%3Ftype%3Ddownload%26id%3D122&ved=2ahUKEwjzvMzw9PH8AhVtPkQIHfZMCAIQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3SgrC9aHhSeTYv5__h4v2_

I love that they showed how awkward or even impossible it would be to resume prior relationships, to just go back to your old job, etc. I like how it even revealed how trivial a person's death and legacy could be rather than the whole world mourning his presumed death in Hollywood fashion.

Rather than the rescue being a feel-good, celebratory end to the story, it was kind of a rebirth where he had to leave his old life behind and start a new one.

It's one of those movies that I have to watch whenever it's on, no matter how many times I've already seen it.

She was seeing the guy she ended up marrying behind Hank’s characters back before the crash. Rewatch the beginning and the end again for the subtle clues.

Wait wat?!? No way!

Edit: found this video https://youtu.be/R_m1mfu3XlY but I think it's too much of a leap. I'll believe it if the director said it.

What? Please elaborate.

The music, the vastness, the hopelessness. It’s so deeply moving. Can I check in with everyone that loved it…

SPOILER ALERT

If you had married Kelly, would you have been able to stay once you knew he was alive? I think I would have needed to let her go and take the time she needed both alone and with Chuck. I couldn’t have lived with the thought that they should have been together.

No way.

Way.

Really?! That’s amazing!! 👏🏽👏🏽

I always understood it as he was too involved in work/stuff that he didn’t realise her dissatisfaction (same as with the coworker who’s wife was dying, being kind of insensitive or wanting to be personal but not knowing how), not realising how much he loved her until afterwards, and then actually getting a second chance to see her again he was able to accept that she could make a life without him was a testament to how much he changed.

Watch YouTube video: EVERYBODY missed the point of Castaway (2000) / A Video Essay of Betrayal.

The ending, him delivering the package that saved his life. The beautiful woman with the red hair and and easy smile gives him direction and pulls off to show the angel wing on the back, showing she was the artist. Him pondering where he should go. You know he’s going to follow.

It ending in quiet as much of the movie was quiet. One of the most beautiful endings to a movie in all time.

Kelly was a cheating whore before he got on the plane

Will do. Thanks!

And the heavy rain

My bro and I thought that the woman at the end with the dog was a missed opportunity for the writers to have her call for the. Dog who's name could have been Wilson which would have been an even deeper cut/remo der that she represented his future. Still, good ending.

Who are you? I literally watched this last night and thought of writing up a post about the ending. Thought nah, I’ll go to bed instead and awoke to see this. Weird.

Great movie.

❤️

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The scene where he's at the bar and he tries to order a non-alcoholic drink. But the bartender, innocently, asks if "that's all he wants." And how that's all the invitation for an alcoholic to need.

The scene that REALLY got me was the scene toward the end in the hotel with the mini bar. He marvels at all the bottles but closes the fridge door. Only to pop right back in just a few seconds and go on a bender.

Those scenes were uncomfortably familiar for me. Drinking has only become a "problem" for me since Covid. But man, shit has spun out of control fast. I had been drinking responsibly for 18+ years before that. And in a matter of months it became an issue.

I'm not sober. But I'm getting everyone I know familiar with my problem. So they know they can't push me to "have one more" or stay later. And I just found out one of my best friends, who has been kinda MIA the last year, just went full sober. He's going to weekly meetings. He was my favorite drinking partner. I couldn't be prouder of him. It feels like the world is showing me the way out.

I think the milk thing was a subtle reference to him being a bit on the heavier side before too.

There’s an element of this in the Count of Monte Cristo which similarly gave me mixed feelings.

Well I'm not leaving my child just because he came back. I assume he loved her.

There's a picture of Anne Frank's father looking at attic where his kids were surviving. It's heartbreaking for so many reasons. But one of them is what you're talking about -- that we can be completely swept up in major situation that's bigger that us that leaves us with no control over the outcome.

That you can be going about your life and then BAM! A radical change can occur that will change everything about the trajectory of your life. It's maddening to me.

There's a few things that Tom Hanks does, physically, in the movie that resonate. One is where he's sitting on the beach after he realizes he's stuck. His posture and mannerisms say it. It's such a great piece of acting.

The other is the heavy vibe in the kitchen with his ex. From the moment he walks in his physical energy seems to just realize all at once that it's over. The idea and image that helped him survive doesn't exist anymore. It reminds of soldiers in WWII or Vietnam who were surviving on the thought of getting back to their significant other. Only to find out the whole time they were writing their SO was with someone else the whole time. God, that's just a mind fuck to think about.

More than that

https://www.google.com/search?q=cast+away+opens+package+youtube&oq=cast+away+opens+package+youtube&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l2.23983j0j7&client=ms-android-americamovil-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ad2782a4,vid:vyp5UQdtQGw

There’s a scene from the West Wing where Leo (John Spencer) talks to Josh (Bradley Whitford) after Josh’s trauma therapy session. Josh tries to make light of the whole thing, but Leo comes back at him with this:

"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out.

A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.'"

Don’t be afraid to ask your friend for help. He’s been in the hole before, and he knows the way out.

Take care. I’m rooting for you.

Her fainting kills me. I always wanted to see him from the time he’s rescued to the time he’s on the plane. But not seeing it is frustrating AND interesting. Fuck you Zemeckis!!! Brilliant.

Totally agree. I think the movie is often slow, and sometimes a little boring, but as you say, the ending is devastating.

I think this is an interesting theory. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I like film theories. Sorry you are getting down voted.

My favorite Hanks performance and that's saying something given his body of work.

the movie is nothing short of a masterpiece , RIP wilson the best ball there will ever be

No worries. I didn’t want to see it, but once I did, I can’t unsee it.

Watched it again recently. Truly beautiful.

A part I completely forgot about is after he gets back, and he's alone in the room where they celebrated his return. He's looking at the table stacked with seafood, and holds up the lighter flame, reflecting on how much he struggled to catch fish and build a fire.

IIRC, didn't the husband (and yeah, I'm pretty sure he was the dentist she mentioned in the beginning) only come in because Helen Hunt was too heartbroken to face Tom Hanks?

Castaway may be one of the few movies where the second act is the best but the third act is a good second place.

It's often glossed over, but the movie has no soundtrack until he leaves the island.

Then the music hits like a freight train.

> I couldn't believe there was so much going on with just one dude on an island.

It's a rare actor that can be the only entity in a film for an hour and still make it gripping as hell.

I said something similar about Avengers Endgame. A single-digit year gap is exactly the worst duration for someone to be away. If it's weeks or months, no problem, most aspects you really can step right back into your old life. If it's a decade or more, there's just no question about it: not happening. But a couple of years? You probably won't, but there's just enough of a possibility that that hope winds up wrecking you.

> I wouldn’t say this is an underrated film because lots of people like it.

Then why bring this up at all..

Yes the last hour of Cast Away is devastating and beautiful, but so was the first hour.

'And now I've lost her all over again'

These are huge leaps lmao. Trash video. He's just interpreting their style of acting differently.

Without the last hour, the movie would be a cliched adaptation of Robinson Crusoe.

With the last hour of Chuck’s emotional reunion with his (ex)wife and reintegration into the world, the movie is brought up to an instant classic

Small steps man. You got this.

No, it's her dentist. No more behind his back than a regular checkup.

The script is not the movie. The movie is the movie.

The emotional climax of the movie is when Chuck and Kelly declare their love for each other in the rain. Kelly tells him she never truly lost hope that he was alive, that he's the love of her life, that she loves him, but in the end she can't leave her family. In Chuck's words, she "has to go home." It's a heartbreaking scene. And it only works because it's real: they really do love each other.

That scene is not in the script. Neither is the previous scene where Kelly can't bear to meet Chuck and cries by her car, which Chuck is able to see through the window. Instead, Kelly shows up, talks to Chuck with other people around, and is totally fine. The scene is lighthearted, even. They joke around a bunch. Then she goes back to Memphis. She never declares him the love of her life or anything of the sort.

It's clearly not the same relationship as in the movie.

The way it is presented in the movie makes more sense dramatically. All the movie is doing is switching the consequences of the main character's attitudes from real ones (losing out on friends and family because their feelings about you change) to movie ones (losing out on friends and family because you are stuck in a desert island and they think you are dead). It is unnecessary to have both the real and movie consequences, it is redundant.

Yes, of course, in "reality" Chuck would get dumped. That is what happens here, just in "movie" form (he gets dumped into a deserted island).

I have an issue with the entire romance subplot...the actual meeting where Chuck sees Kelly near the end. It really killed the pacing IMHO and seemed out-of-place with the rest of the movie.

Love the actual ending...with him standing at the crossroads looking back at the late Lari White, pondering his next move (and if you're like me when you saw it you were thinking, "Go back and talk to her!")

Sometimes their isn't anyone to blame and the relationship just doesn't work out.

She was a wreck. Her entire life was flipped upside down. The husband knew she just needed more time to absorb what was going on. He probably figured Chuck needed more time as well. When Chuck arrives at her home later on we see all that time she spent going over Chucks journey. That was her coming to terms with the whole situation at least until a few minutes later when she kind of breaks but Chuck tells her it will be okay and to go back to her husband and child. She goes back to her adventure and he leaves to go on his new adventure.

You do see a photo of him posing on what appears to be the deck of the ship that picked him up. He is wearing a jumpsuit that matches what the crew is wearing. I always assumed that was the crew of the ship that picked him up.

Home Alone came out in 1990 but by all means is really an 80s movie. Decades tend to bleed over for a little while. I could make the argument that the 90s didn't really begin to identify itself until 93 or 94. And I could make the argument that the 90's officially ended in September of 2001.

It's why the film is called "Cast Away" and not, you know, Castaway.

Several things wrong with what you're saying:

1. He didn't keep the shipping labels on the opened packages. There is no indication that he did this. Even if he did, do you think he'd somehow be able to keep them in a readable condition after 4 years? Do you think he somehow kept them in some sort of weather-proof container while being out at sea for weeks, having his raft almost completely destroyed by the weather and waves? We see zero evidence of him keeping these things with him.
2. The package you reference being delivered to the ranch isn't "one of the packages", it's literally the only package he didn't open. He's delivering THAT ONE package to the place that kept him going.
3. We don't see any other of the other items in the front seat besides the new Wilson volleyball. No ice skates, etc. I saw no indicator that he was replacing these items. I think he just missed his "friend".

A question on the ending: did Tom Hanks get himself a new Wilson? Or is that up to interpretation?

Name any actor, other than Hanks, that you'd rather see solo on the screen that long? And was the Hunt character supposed to be happy having a work-obsessed absentee partner? She's sad and disappointed because she loves him and while he loves her, she's not a priority. She's sad, at least in part, because she's not going to leave him and is resigned to settle.

There's a brief moment when he's climbed into the emergency raft in the wind and rain and dark, and that sound of pouring rain in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night is stunning.

He kept that one box in readable condition without a waterproof box but nothing else? Hmm, I think there may be a slight flaw in your reasoning. Either he’s found a way of keeping stuff safe, or he hasn’t.

You also need to go and rewatch the scenes where he’s collecting the boxes and, later on, when he starts to open them.

Eh, there have been several sites and videos that tried to use the kid's age and different date/time clues to show that over the years. At the absolute worst, she "only" waited a few months before moving on, but people do weird things when they're devastated by tragedy.

Have you ever received a package from FedEx or any other carrier? There's usually tape all over the front. If you take the labels off, the back is no longer covered by tape, therefore it's no longer protected.

No interest in arguing. You're simply inserting things into the movie that aren't there. Let's both rewatch it and realize how wrong we both are... or not.

She had drawn her signature bird on the truck, and it was only as she was driving off that he realized that she was the recipient of the only package he had not opened, because her bird drawing was on the package too.

Arrogant, aren’t you? No interest in arguing? You’re the one who started the argument. Personally I thought it was a discussion, but some people clearly have such fragile egos they can’t stand to be disagreed with.

I think everything that had happened encouraged him to let her go back to her new life, with a man who was more intimately involved with her than he had ever been.

Prisoners of war have displayed a shocking ability to remember details about their stay. Take away TV and radio, and the normal amount of interaction with other people, and a seemingly small event becomes significant.

Every now and then I get pissed off all over again that they served sushi at his welcome home party. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Literally everything I said in my comments were objective observations. I'm not name-calling. I'm simply saying that what you are saying is wrong. You were stating things that you saw in the movie that simply aren't there. I'm sorry I didn't package these comments with more fluff and niceties.

Now I'll switch to the subjective. You are what's wrong with internet discussions. Yes, you. This was a perfectly civil discussion until your last reply. I was offering a counter-point to what I believe to be incorrect statements. You then replied with your counter-points. And as soon as I say "no interest in arguing", you start with the "arrogant" statement and commenting on my ego. You clearly read into my replies like I was somehow insulting you, when (again), I was pointing out objective errors in your statements. You're inserting attitude into my prior replies that simply wasn't there.

If I'm wrong, prove it. But I've seen this movie no fewer than 20 times. When you say I need to go back and rewatch the scene where he's collecting packages and later opening them, I remember them exactly. But I don't have any desire to dive into the details with you, because you'll somehow read into that as an insult.

But I do plan on re-watching this movie with my 7 year old sometime soon. When I watch it, I'll be sure and pay extra close attention to the scenes you referenced. If I notice anything other than what my memory contains, I'll come find this comment chain and eat crow.

Every brain cell I have says don't hit reply, but here goes...

One of my regrets as a parent is that while on family vacation with the kids, we watched Castaway on cable, and bloated with commercials as it was, the movie stretched on well past a reasonable bedtime for the kids. So after having pushed on as long as I could, I finally turned it off at a commercial break....right after the scene when Hanks loses Wilson overboard on his getaway raft. My kids were devastated that they didn't get to see the ending, and we've still never remembered to circle back and watch the whole thing. Though I did warn them that he never gets Wilson back :_(

The character was dehydrated, starving, sunburnt and barely alive. So I gotta imagine it would be some sailors (maybe that don’t speak English) standing over a withered guy who could maybe give a few grunts before he was taken to the med bay. Maybe a first time waking up in a bed and seeing someone could have been an emotional scene but would probably not have been better than any of the others that happened after.

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Did you notice this movie featured sponsorship from the FedEx company?

No denigration of the subject movie is present in this comment.

Please tell me you were like 14 when you first watched it. Or, scratch that, 4.

The movie is well received but I still think it’s underrated. It’s one of the most moving films I’ve ever seen and even thinking about it makes me start to well up.

I’m not even going to read that wall of self-serving text.

Here we go... And a relationship that was born in that period would have lasted and would not self destruct?

I think its fair to say that its an open question if she was cheating on him, given his lack of availability in the relationship.

I didnt like Tom Hanks character at the cross roads choosing to follow the girl down the road to her house towards the happy ending. It wrapped up too cleanly, would have preferred to seen it more true to life with the guy devastated that he had no friends, no life, no prospects, no direction, sitting alone by himself on another kind of island.

Brilliantly stated.

It really is the best thing Zemeckis has ever done. Even though I like him a lot as a director, I never thought he had this in him.

I’ve always loved the way the music begins so quietly, yet utterly dramatic.

> And it only works because it's real: they really do love each other.

Oh Kelly absolutely does love Chuck so it still all fits. Kelly is in pain with pre-crash Chuck's behaviour because she loves him. As adults we learn that love isn't enough for a relationship to work. The theme isn't simply loss but loss of what we have taken for granted. The reason behind the workaholism and the struggling relationship is to establish how he is taking for granted what he loves most.

Some movies just diverge from the themes of the shopped script wholesale but more often scripts state themes explicitly that are treated more subtly in the final movie. The screenwriter communicates by direct dialogue what the final movie shows through performances and direction. Lines that are too on the nose don't make the final cut - directors like ambiguity that tickle a viewer's brain and add depth instead of saying it out loud. They want to puzzle and provoke a viewer.

In the script the message of the story is spelled out explicitly, Chuck's island experience changes him such that he promises to live life better and not be so whipped up in work that he takes people for granted (Kelly). In the movie, there is no grand speech from Chuck about a new enlightened spirit. We can see he is a changed man but it's left up to us to try and understand how. The movie doesn't just paint the message on a sail like the script lol but gives scope for us to find our own meanings.

For me, it's pretty clear it's a similar message as the script. Chuck was living in a self-absorbed bubble and wasn't really connecting with anyone but this bubble is thoroughly popped by his experiences. One particularly nice contrast is how pre-crash Chuck's ebullient ChuckMode attitude misfires with his colleague about his cancer stricken wife (and he doesn't see it) but post-crash, he is more empathetic and connects. The whole Wilson relationship was about the need for connection. The ending is playful mix of Chuck still doing the work (delivering a fedex package) but after he realises who the package is for, stood in the crossroads, I feel confident Chuck is not going to strap on the beeper and chase delivery times again but will now pursue connection.

I didn't see it as him following the girl. As I remember, he's at the cross roads and decides on that direction because of the wings on her car bumper.

And the whale! I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the whale in the comments yet!

I agree with that. He’s tried so many different things tonally and technologically. And of course, back to the future is an incredible movie. But none of his other stuff suggests the depth of cast away. At least for me.

Ah, probably true. It's been a while.

I do remember her trying to go in and being stopped though. She's crying and says something like "I got to see him" and the husband just puts her back in the car.

Could be a bad memory though.