<P>Surprisingly impressive, largely because of the lack of cheap thrills and because of its reliance on real tension.</P>

Surprisingly impressive, largely because of the lack of cheap thrills and because of its reliance on real tension.

Chuck Noland - Hanks - works for the international courier business Fedex as a troubleshooter. One moment he`s at home in Memphis with girlfriend Kelly - Helen Hunt, the next he `s in Moscow, telling `em how to do it faster - time waits for no man. He has to interrupt Christmas and plans for popping the question to Kelly when he`s paged to head off to Malaysia. One thing about Chuck, he gets a seat on any plane he has to catch. But this one`s the wrong one because the plane crashes, presumably because of something in the cargo, and Chuck is the only survivor. From that point on it`s the basics that matter - water, shelter, food, fire....and companionship......Filmed in two parts with a year in between - there is a gap of four years in the film itself - Cast Away is surprisingly impressive, largely because of the lack of cheap thrills and because of its reliance on real tension. Tom Hanks who recently won the New York Film Critics gong for best actor is terrific, and brave and real in his portrayal of how we think we would be under similar circumstances. The first frantic 35 minutes contrasts well with the lingering nothingness of the island. But for once it isn`t a Hollywood movie that`s surface only, there`s a smidgeon of something in there to make us think about life and getting on with it. Davids Comments:Undeniably impressive, though a bit of an ordeal for the viewer in the long central section on the island. Hanks gives a strong performance, and actor and director took quite a few risks with the project. The sequence in which the plane crashes in a storm is horribly convincing.