Chuck Noland (Hanks) is a highly strung FedEx manager who lives by the clock. Working for a company that just recorded a record day’s delivery – 2.9 million packages – timepieces, mobile phones and pagers his essential tools of trade. Jetting around the world, troubleshooting inefficient or problem agencies, he is no stranger to air travel.

Christmas Eve, 1995, in the middle of an extended-family dinner the ubiquitous pager summons his immediate attention in a far away land. A quick comparison of diaries with girlfriend Kelly (Hunt) and he’s off on a quick job promising to come right back.

Bad weather forces the freight aircraft off course and out of radio contact before eventually succumbing to the forces of nature. Forced to ditch, the pilot loses the battle to save his plane and its crew – Noland the only survivor.

Washed up on a sandy, sun drenched beach, Noland finds himself very alone.

For the best part of two hours we follow his trials, tribulations and triumphs as he learns to cope and survive.

In his timeframe more than five years elapse before he finally decides to make a desperate break for freedom. Beyond the breakers lies untold expanses of open ocean and untold added dangers, but better to die in an attempt at salvation than rot away in isolation.

Back in my time zone and knowing that the movie runs for about two hours twenty, I’m frantically looking at my watch desperately wishing the hands would stop moving. I don’t want this great adventure to end so soon. Such is the power of the tale and the power of the telling – all be it with very little dialogue.

Tom Hanks, in my humble opinion, deserved his Golden Globe win last week and I hope he converts it to Oscar success as well, despite my best wishes for Russell Crowe and Gladiator.

I rarely mention other reviews in this column. I do read them but rarely agree with them, preferring to do or die on my own merits. I judge films by my own set of standards and to hell with conforming.

This week is no exception. But I have to say I was just a little bemused by comments I have seen in one paper wherein the author said he found Noland’s lack of survival instinct annoying. Well either that author is a natural-born bush child or he is blowing smoke out of some nether region, because I was very impressed by how clever and resourceful our hero was. After all he was a rich city slicker more used to silver service than cracking coconuts with a stone.

You and I, by virtue of the job we do and love, have lived in some rough spots from time to time and you know how hard it can be, even with the QM resupplying your basic needs.

But imagine yourself stranded on a deserted island with no hexi, no matches, no KFS, no hutchie, no clasp knife, no QM and no Sallyman for five years and ask yourself how you’d cope.

Chuck Noland did well and I was rootin’ for him every step of the way.

Many of the film-making credits on Cast Away previously appeared on the list for Forrest Gump consequently giving the film a certain familiar feel. The confusing part, though, was that the sense of familiarity had me convinced I should be looking for Saving Private Ryan links, particularly in the original-score department. But I was wrong.