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In this Robert Zemeckis film, Hanks portrays a Federal Express inspector who "lives and dies by the clock." Following a violent plane crash, Hanks is marooned on a remote, deserted island for four years. What keeps his ticker ticking is a gold pocket watch presented to him on Christmas Eve by girlfriend Kelly, played by Helen Hunt. Inside this family heirloom watch, she placed her tiny portrait, one Hanks gazes at every day, and night, of those four forlorn years.
Like a perspective of whether the bottle is half full or half empty, Hanks discovers that Fuji, for some an island paradise, is for him a prison akin to Alcatraz. His own journey of self discovery, often marked with subtle humor, leads him to cast away the unimportant clutter of life.
His symbols of hope come to include more than the timeless watch. While several Fed Ex packages wash ashore with him, Hanks clings to one, adorned with angel wings, that he vows to personally return.
Another symbol becomes "Wilson," the volleyball he imprints with his own blood. "Wilson" bounces to life as Hanks' constant companion and confidant. Through "Wilson," the moviegoer understands the emotional isolation Hanks feels.
But the isolation becomes even greater when, four years later, Hanks returns to Memphis and discovers Kelly has given him up for dead and married another man.
"At least on the island, I had her with me," Hanks recalled his thoughts.
But he still has his best friend Stan, played by Nick Searcy, who in real life is no stranger to Hanks. Searcy starred in the HBO television series "From the Earth to the Moon" produced by and starring Hanks.
"I know Tom Hanks, but we're not best of friends. I mean he doesn't call me up and ask me to go to the movies with him," said Searcy, who called on his way to Vancouver to film an episode for the television series "Seven Days."
For the role of Stan, Searcy auditioned by tape. "Three weeks later the producer, Bob Zemeckis, called me to meet with him. We're talking and he says, 'In one scene, I need you to speak a little French. And you know filming will take a year because Tom has to go through a weight loss.'
"All the while I'm thinking, 'Did I miss something here? Do I have the part?'"
"Oh, sure," Zemeckis tells him.
If you missed Searcy's French accent, don't worry that you might have been out for popcorn at the time. The entire French scene was cut from the movie.
"You know how those things happen," Searcy said of the shots that were filmed mainly in Memphis and Los Angeles. The majority of the movie was shot in Fuji, with other parts in Moscow and Texas.
"I have a small role, but it's the first time my name has been right up there on the poster with the star. It's only taken 20 years," said Searcy, who will appear in "One-hour Photo" with Robin Williams.
Working side-by-side with such an award-winning actor makes it hard to keep focus, Searcy said.
"You are watching Tom and you think, 'Wait, I haven't seen him do that before.' Then suddenly you realize, 'Oh, God, that's my line!'"
"I think 'Cast Away' is an excellent movie; it should win some awards," said Searcy's proud mom.
"The movie is a lesson in what's important in life," said son Nick. "For Tom, in the world he had before, his relationships in life were at second-best status. I'd say this movie teaches us to cherish the time with our loved ones, to put them first because we never know what's going to happen next."
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