Return to the Movie House home page
Castaway (1986) from ICMS |
|
Gerald (Oliver Reed) is an older man who wants to
go and live on a deserted tropical island for a year and write a
book about it. He places an ad in a newspaper to find a young
woman to keep him company and share the experience. The woman he
chooses is Lucy (Amanda Donohoe), an attractive and intelligent
young woman who is more than ready for any adventure which will
allow her to escape the unbearable tedium of her civil service job
in a London tax office.
On their first meeting they immediately,
without realizing it, hit it off with each other, so much so that
after a while they end up in bed together. For various reasons the
Australian immigration services won't give them visas unless they
marry, something that Lucy doesn't like but is compelled to do
anyway because otherwise their plan would end right there in
London and the film would be over.
When they finally arrive on their remote island,
things don't go as they expected from the start. Gerald forgot
some vital supplies and, since they decided to live in autarchy,
they are facing un uphill struggle. Even building a decent
shelter proves a burden, certainly for Gerald, who doesn't carry
his weight in the daily activities that are supposed to keep them
afloat. Lucy doesn't stop reminding him of this and they have some
serious quarrels with each other, but in the end they always come
to their senses, although they don't seem to realize it.
Things go from bad to worse. A tropical island
without any decent resources proves increasingly nightmarish, but
they do hang in, primarily because every time their needs really
become desperate, there is always a sort of deus ex machina
that comes to the rescue. When they need critical supplies, two
Aussies happen to stop on the island to do some repair work on
their catamaran. When they need medical treatment, two nuns/nurses
happen to pass by in a boat with some natives.
Apparently the island isn't quite so remote as we were led to believe at the beginning.
I think that you are sensing that this film didn't
give me the satisfaction that I had hoped for. The most
frustrating aspect of it is the illogical behavior of the
characters. Since both characters are portrayed as intelligent
people, it is not credible for the film to portray them as unable
to see the obvious fact that the audience can see immediately.
They don't seem to realize that despite their differences they
have a soft spot for each other, a deep-rooted respect, and even
love. To give just one example: even though Lucy refuses to have
sex with Gerald on the island, she doesn't do the nasty with the
Aussie boys either, despite the fact that she and one of the guys
were sexually attracted to one another. She stays faithful to her
"husband".
Only at the end does Lucy realize that despite all
their differences she loves this husband of hers. He, too,
eventually admits to himself that he loves this wife of his. But
when does he acknowledge that? When he is lingering in the tropics
while she is already on a plane back to England! Would intelligent
people who finally realize they really love each other simply let
their partners get away? Furthermore, although we were initially
led to believe that HE would write a book about the adventure, it
is SHE who ends up being the writer, while Gerald settles down on
a nearby island to live with the natives. So once again it looks
like they weren't as cut off from civilization as suggested.
The movie is not without positives. There is the
spectacular cinematography one expects from a Nicolas Roeg film, a
decent performance from screen veteran Oliver Reed, and a truly
excellent acting job by Amanda Donohoe in one of her first roles.
She was completely in touch with her role and had absolutely no
problems with the copious nudity required. It is crystal clear
that she felt totally at ease with herself in the buff, as the
part asked for. And why should she have worried about it?
She simply looked great and was certainly aware of that fact.
Unfortunately, the raw clay of those positives is shaped into a film which is too long and which creates its substantial running time not with dialogue, which is sparse, but by padding out the very thin premise with repetitive situations and beautiful nature shots. This is a well photographed movie, and some scenes are truly beautiful, but the overlong shots of the spectacular island vistas slow down a pace which is already paralyzed by the repetitive action and lack of meaningful dialogue between the characters. And to top it all off there is the unsatisfying and illogical ending. Maybe at the end someone should have said: "Logic is overrated", like Halle Berry's character in Gothika. |
|
||||
|
||||
Return to the Movie House home page