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ts 20 - "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2000 Actor, director take risks that work in fabulous film From page 9 Portraying Chuck Nolan, a Federal Express systems engineering supervisor obsessed with time, Hanks allows the audience to experience his journey with him, descending with the actor into hell, and then taking us on a spiritu- al odyssey as he learns to deal with the horrible iso- lation that eats at his mind. Watching him make use of the Federal Express pack- ages containing ice skates, and videotape, fashioning BLN \V(=]'} ITE a odd tools with them to sur- vive is just the beginning of his ordeal. While his character must learn to physically survive, he then must adapt to the mental anguish of such an exis- tence. It is in the middle sec- tion that Castaway takes off to become a great film. We watch our stranded hero come to terms. with his isolation, creating what must be a tortured exis- tence free of any human HOMES - contact. He longs for home, but is strangely lib- erated by the lack of time constraints on his life. He becomes primal, learning to do what is necessary to survive, and breaks free of the conventions of the modern world. When he is given the chance to escape the island, he does indeed take it, but returning to his life after four years of isola- tion proves more difficult than he could possibly imagine. He is a radically different person, no longer in tune (or wanting to be) with the modern world, and cannot shake his memories of the island. His girlfriend, played nice- ly by Helen Hunt, cannot understand the hold his existence in the tropic has on him, though she gamely attempts to come to terms with the changes in him. Robert Zemeckis is among the more exciting directors in movies today, though it was only in the 90s that he became accepted as a great film- maker. His close associa- 'tion with Steven Spielberg has allowed him to forge a great career, but has worked against him in the sense of being in his men- tor's rather tall shadow. Critics in North America have often referred to Zemeckis as "Spielberg- lite", which considering his body of work is rather insulting. "His successful Romancing the Stone (1984), and the incredibly successful Back to the Future (1985, 1989, 1990) solidified his reputation as a director of popular hits, but it was Death Becomes Her (1992) that first truly displayed his enormous talents with actors. Forrest Gump (1994) would earn him an Academy Award for best director, presented to him by his friend and asso- ciate Spielberg. In 1997 he charted Kubrick country with the stunning Contact, which merged science fiction films, | with religion to create one of the most astonishing, but ignored films of the year. Taking chances has become a part of Zemeckis' life. Castaway is all about taking chances, both on the screen and in the making of the film. There are sequences free of music, sparse in dia- logue, and shockingly effective, as director Zemeckis places absolute trust in his actor to shoul- der the film. Zemeckis must have known without a soaring performance from Hanks, his film would sim- ply work. I wonder if he counted on his actor giving one of the greatest performances of all time? A superb film that searches the soul for answers about the power of human instinct and the human spirit; among the best of the year, and for Hanks, the finest perfor- mance of his great career. Oscar awaits. TOWNSHIP OF SCUGOG PUBLIC NOTICE The Municipal Offices of the Township of Scugog will be closing for the holiday season on December 22nd at 4:30 p.m. and will re-open on January 2nd, 2001 at 8:30 a.m. We wish each and everyone a safe and happy holiday and best wishes for the New Year: Staff of the Township of Scugog. Have you checked | your Insurance sly? ~Gall tods REPRESENTING: FARMERS' MUTUAL INSURANCE Co. (LINDSAY) Farm-Home-Auto-Commercial-Watercraft-Cottages