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"WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2001-9 A few of last year's screen gems come to video LB BN BN BN BN BN BN BN BN BN WN SCREENING ROOM By John Foote CAST AWAY (Ve Pe fete vy) THE PLEDGE (Ye trix) There is a haunting nobility to Tom Hanks' performance in Cast Away that takes hold of the audience after a particu- larly splendid edited sequence involving a sore tooth. Hanks figures out a way to deal with the decayed tooth and the screen goes black, telling us it is now four years later in his ordeal as the lone survivor of a plane crash stranded on a remote Pacific Island. A fish is swimming in the waters close to the shore when suddenly a home- made spear plunges through the creature and the camera pans to Hanks, now beard- ed with sun-bleached hair blowing in the breeze, his tanned body taut and covered only with a loin cloth. He has become primal man, managing to find ways to survive in the harshest exis- tence, bringing into play his innermost instincts and primal survival abilities. His eyes seem dead, having been robbed of the hope that once bumed brightly in them after being marooned on the island, his only companion a volleyball dubbed Wilson. He has been cast away from the life, the society and the world he once knew, and his survival becomes an extraordinary dis- covery of the powers of hope, love, and faith. This is a superb performance that in my mind should have won the Academy Award for best actor in March. Further to that, not only was this performance the finest of last year, but stands alongside the greatest pieces of acting ever committed to film. Hanks disappears into his charac- ter, a time-obsessed Federal Express train- er suddenly robbed of time, in an exis- tence where time means nothing. Already an Oscar, winner for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994), Hanks was deserving again of the honour in 1998 for Saving Private Ryan, but his work in Cast Away surpasses everything the talented actor has ever done. He takes risks many major stars would refuse to take, is alone on screen for the film's mid- dle 45 minutes, and does not have the benefit of a musical score to work on the audience's emotions. This was the final film | saw before my car accident in February, and watching it ~ again on video recently | found the film had grown in power. There is something incredibly moving about the efforts Hanks goes. through to survive, the incredible 'hope that keeps him alive, and the gutsy, non-traditional ending that closes the film. Cast Away is a modern-day Robinson Crusoe saga with an edge. The film begins by introducing us to Chuck (Tom Hanks), a man who lives by the clock, who is franti- cally obsessed with his job and the time used up in getting Federal Express pack- AA TPE Jack Nicholson (right, with Sam Shepard) turns in a brilliant Performance in The Pledge, which is now available on video. ages to where they should go. Called away on Christmas Eve, he pro- poses to his girlfriend, nicely portrayed by Helen Hunt, telling her as he walks to the plane, "I'll be right back". The plane crash- es into the Pacific Ocean, and Chuck is washed up on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, having none of the essentials of survival at his disposal. - Ingeniously, he uses the contents of Federal Express packages to create what he needs to survive, and merges that with his own gritty determination. Four years slip by, and he decides to take a chance of beating the pounding tide and making a break from the island. | am giving nothing away in saying that he returns to the soci- ety he once knew - the television ads did that last year - but I will not discuss how the film is resolved. Safe to say his girlfriend, thinking he was dead, has moved on with her life, and is tortured about where she stands in all this. Chuck is equally bombarded by what has happened to him emotionally, and for the second time in his life, time does not really mean so much. Please turn to page 13 their cars CIGNA a" Presents the o a NBs sors sas] J Castro Weekend SuperTicket only $30.00 (ends June 20th, $40.00 at the gate) Children 12 & Under FREE | SuperTicket includes Paddock access. Visit the teams while they prepare gor. competition. Pepa ey | occ LLL A See Canada's premier National series, the Castrol Super Series, and the best drivers CASCAR has to offer, take on Mosport's roadcourse. Don't miss the three-hour Grand Am Cup race Saturday afternoon. Call: 1-800-866-1072 or online at www.mosport.com -- oo as oy pao zo PRAFF NATIONAL Dag TL GD Canad EY ce fren SRE ofr CANADA Plus: Canadian Formula Ford Championship Canada G.T. Challenge Cup *Isseco Kumho F1200 Championship Canadian ChampCar Lights \ OCTET EETON IOI IOIOIV 000006080