Hanks igra Chucka Nolana, energicnog i karizmaticnog sluzbenika FedExa. Prvo ga nalazimo u Moskvi, kako drzi lokalnim radnicima predavanje o znacaju vremena, pripremajuci tako teren za neke ironicne flash-backove kasnije u filmu. On se vraca svojoj djevojci Kelly (Hunt) u Memphis, ali ce njegovu bozicnu veceru skratiti pejdzer, vodeci ga na put na drugu stranu svijeta. No, avion ce naici na oluju i srusiti se, ostavivsi Chucka, kao jedinog prezivjelog, nasukanog na plazi na ostrvu.

Nema mnogo glumaca koji bi mogli biti ostavljeni nasamo na ekranu 30 minuta nakon pocetka, osudjeni na potpunu izolaciju gotovo do kraja, sa malo hrane i nimalo opreme. Hanks vadi maksimum iz svoje uloge, pokazujuci zavidan raspon emocija i stanja uma. U sekvenci gdje Chuck nastoji da raspali vatru, Hanks prelazi iz pocetne frustracije preko krajnjeg ocaja do ekstaticne razdraganosti, pracenom izvedbom cuvenog refrena Doorsa, "Baby, baby, light my fire", sve u roku od nekoliko minuta.

Chuck ima drustvo, kao sto je imao i Robinson Crusoe. Doduse, umjesto domoroca nazvanog Petko, Chuckov prijatelj je odbojkaska lopta koju je nasao u jednom od FedEx paketa i kojoj je dao ima Wilson. Njihov odnos je najiskreniji u filmu, sto se pokazuje u nekoliko vrlo emotivnih scena. Chuck otvara i druge pakete, koji sadrze vise ili manje upotrebljive predmete, ali ostavlja jedan netaknut, kao da nam zeli reci tako rano u filmu da ce ga jednog dana nastojati isporuciti.

Zemeckis ne zuri da isprica pricu, ali odrzava dobar ritam. Brzi rezovi unutar sekvenci ne trose vrijedno vrijeme na dogadjaje koji su jasni sami za sebe. Chuckove pocetne teskoce povremeno se sklanjaju u stranu pred stecenim vjestinama, nakon sto napravimo skok od cetiri godine. Mrsaviji je, misicaviji (Zemeckis je rezirao What Lies Beneath dok je Hanks mrsavio), mnogo je bolji ribar, ali je jos ocajan i depresivan. Bas kada izgubi vecinu nade, odlucuje se na dramatican bijeg od otoka.

Ono sto me je najvise impresioniralo kod tog glavnog dijela filma je gotovo potpuno odsustvo svega sto odvlaci paznju, pogotovo muzike. Film se nikad ne prodaje za jeftine sentimentalnosti, drzeci nasu paznju cvrsto na jednoj tacki - Chucku. Cak je i posljednji dio, kada se Chuck vrati i bori sa promjenama u svijetu koji je napustio, vrlo pazljivo izradjen. Tu nalazimo jos nekoliko likova, ali se sve i dalje vrti oko Chucka, njegovih unutrasnjih sukoba i zahvalnosti koji nalazi za sve sto mu plima nanese. Takodje su mi se svidjeli mali nagovjestaji koje film ostavlja usput, kupivsi ih mnogo kasnije. Jednostavna ironija plinskog upaljaca, jedva primjetna grimasa kada Chuck dobije natrag svoj nozic i ritual paljenja i gasenja svjetla i narocito paket sa andjeoskim krilima, naglasavaju strukturu filma, koji se ciklicno zavrsava na istom raskrscu gdje je i poceo. Jos jedna suptilna ironija je sam naslov, koji nije imenica, vec glagol, implicirajuci uticaj neke vise sile, poput plime, kao sveprisutne metafore.

Hanks plays Chuck Nolan, an energetic and charismatic FedEx executive. We find him first in Moscow, preaching to a bunch of local FedEx employees the importance of time, setting himself up for some ironic flashbacks down the road. He comes back to his girlfriend Kelly (Hunt) in Memphis, but his Christmas dinner is cut short by a page, taking him on the plane half across the world. The plane runs into heavy storm and crashes, leaving Chuck, as the only survivor, washed up on a beach of an island.

There are not that many actors who could be left all alone onscreen 30 minutes into the movie, sentenced to total isolation for most of the remainder, with little food and no supplies. Hanks makes the most of his role, displaying enviable range of emotions and states of mind. In a sequence where Chuck tries to spark a fire, Hanks goes from initial frustration, via utter despair to ecstatic jubilation, accompanied with the rendition of a famous Doors chorus "Baby, baby, light my fire", all within minutes.

Chuck has a companion, like Robinson Crusoe did. Although, instead of a native called Friday, Chuck’s friend is volleyball he calls Wilson, one of several FedEx packages that found rescue on the island. The relationship between the two will prove to be the most sincere one in the movie, proven in a few very emotional scenes. Chuck opens most of the other packages, with more or less useful items, but leaves one untouched, as if he wants us to know that early in the movie that he will try to deliver it one day.

Zemeckis takes his time in telling the story, but keeps the pace up. Swift cuts inside the sequences don’t waste valuable time on events that are self-explanatory. Chuck’s initial struggles eventually give way to acquired skills, as we take a four-year time jump. He is leaner and more muscular (Zemeckis made What Lies Beneath while Hanks was losing weight), he’s a much better fisherman, but he is still desperate and depressed. Just as he loses most of the hope, he attempts a dramatic escape off the island.

What impressed me the most about that main part of the movie is almost complete absence of any distractions, especially music. The movie never sells out for cheap sentimentality, keeping the focus of our attention steady on one point – Chuck. Even the final part, in which Chuck returns and copes with the changes in the world he left, is very carefully crafted. There we have a few more characters, but everything still revolves around Chuck, his inner conflicts, and his newly found appreciation for everything the tide brings him. I also liked all the little clues the movie leaves along the way, picking them up much later. Simple irony of convenient gas range lighter, barely noticeable grimace on Chuck’s face when he gets his pocket knife key-chain and the ritual of switching the lights on and off, and especially the angel wing package, emphasize the structure of the film, which ends cyclically at the same crossroads it began. Another subtle irony is the title, which is not a noun, but rather a verb, implying an influence of an outside force, a higher power, such as tide, as the omnipresent metaphor.