1. Cast Away
Movies featuring a single actor in a set location are always a risk, and it doesn’t seem at all unfair to say that Cast Away could have been a huge failure in lesser hands. As the time-obsessed systems analyst who winds up alone on a remote island after the plane he’s travelling on crashes into the Pacific Ocean, Hanks gave it his all. He lost a huge amount of weight and his natural everyman charm and likeability gave his character the necessary qualities to make the audience feel emotionally invested in his plight.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Hanks was able to create a believable relationship with “Wilson”; a volleyball with a face drawn on it (in blood). If you weren’t moved to tears when they were separated, you undoubtedly have a heart of stone. The film may have focused on a truly terrifying scenario, but the actor made it a captivating and thoroughly enjoyable ride, even when he escapes the island and finds that the world has moved on without him. A tragic story which never sees him or us give up on hope.
