Cast Away
Movie, 2000, Named by fans, Set in First in the trilogy
Cast Away is #26 of 48 in release order and #43 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.
Cast Away recap
Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer who lives by the clock, proposes to his girlfriend Kelly at Christmas just before flying out on a cargo plane. The plane crashes into the Pacific in a storm and Chuck washes up alone on an uninhabited island. He opens some of the FedEx packages that wash ashore, using ice skates as tools and a volleyball as a companion he names Wilson after painting a face on it in his own blood. One package with angel wings painted on it he leaves sealed. He struggles to make fire, pulls out an infected tooth with a skate blade, and learns to fish. Four years later, a sheet of plastic washes up that he can use as a sail, and he builds a raft. It begins the Alone Trilogy, a fan grouping of films where one person survives in total isolation with only themselves to talk to.
Cast Away ending explained
Chuck is rescued but has lost Kelly, and he delivers the last package himself. On the raft he loses Wilson in the ocean and is picked up by a cargo ship. Back in Memphis, Kelly is married with a daughter; they admit they still love each other, and part. Chuck drives to Texas to drop off the winged package, with a note saying it saved his life. At a crossroads, the woman who sent it, Bettina, gives him directions, and he watches her truck go, its tailgate painted with the same wings.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Cast Away
Cast Away isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes 88%
Where it fits
- Release order: after O Brother, Where Art Thou?, before Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.
- Chronological order: after Whiplash, before I Am Legend.
Cast
- Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland
- Helen Hunt as Kelly Frears
- Nick Searcy as Stan
- Jenifer Lewis as Becca Twig
- Geoffrey Blake as Maynard Graham
- Peter Von Berg as Yuri
- Chris Noth as Jerry Lovett
- Lari White as Bettina Peterson
- Elden Henson as Elden Madden
- Timothy Stack as Morgan Stockton
- Paul Sanchez as Ramon
- Leonid Citer as Fyodor
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.