Castaway (1986)

Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. The young Lucy Irving takes a chance on contacting him and ... See full summary »

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writers:

Lucy Irvine (book), Allan Scott

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Amanda Donohoe, Georgina Hale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Gerald Kingsland
Amanda Donohoe	...	Lucy Irvine
Georgina Hale	...	Sister Saint Margaret
Frances Barber	...	Sister Saint Winifred
Tony Rickards	...	Jason
Todd Rippon	...	Rod
John Sessions	...	Man in Pub
Virginia Hey	...	Janice
Sorel Johnson	...	Lara
Len Peihopa	...	Ronald
Paul Reynolds	...	Mike Kingsland
Sean Hamilton	...	Geoffrey Kingsland
Sarah Harper	...	Swimming Teacher
Stephen Jenn	...	Shop Manager
Joseph Blatchley	...	Registrar

Storyline

Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. The young Lucy Irving takes a chance on contacting him and after a couple of meetings they decide to go ahead. Once on the island things prove a lot less idyllic than in the movies, and gradually it becomes clear that it is Lucy who has the desire and the strength to try and see the year through.

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Plot Keywords:

island | desert island | helicopter | female nudity | exotic locale | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

A kitaszított

Filming Locations:

Charles House, Kensington High Street, Kensington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$483,460 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Screen Entertainment, United British Artists (UBA), Castaway Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

UK singer Kate Bush was initially asked to star in the film, but she was put-off by the sexual material of the screenplay. Instead she provided a song.

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Connections

Referenced in Celebrity Naked Ambition (2011)

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Soundtracks

"NESSUM DORMA aria from Turandot"
Written by Giacomo Puccini
Luciano Pavarotti with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Zubin Mehta
Courtesy of the Decca Record Company Limited
Cat. No. SET 561

User Reviews

Fatally flawed one-sided character study

Roeg is always interesting and challenging so I make a point of watching his films even though I don't always like them. This film reminded me of Bad Timing, in the sense that it is a movie about an incompatible couple drawn together for the wrong reasons, their relationship put under duress and under the microscope of a reality they can't escape from, until everything snaps.

He has an obsessive, idealistic fantasy about living on a desert island with a woman, her reasons are never made clear, but they both seem to want the adventure so they ignore their problems during their first few months of their relationship, and embark on the survivalist project. The problems start already on the first day, with his ideals and fantasies getting in the way of real work that needs to be done, and she takes all the wind out of his sails by suddenly denying him any more sex, and nagging him to do more house-wo... I mean island-work.

At least that's the way I see it. Watching this movie, I found myself constantly wondering what's going on in his mind. His mind seems to be a mess, his behaviour is extremely erratic, and everything he does is criticized by her, blatantly chauvinistic to the point of being a caricature, or just wrong. He doesn't feel like a real person. Whereas she can do no wrong, and her emotional needs are explained to death.

And then it dawned on me: This is a one-sided story told only from the woman's side, consisting of rants against a man she doesn't like nor understand, who finds herself in a survivalist adventure that didn't match her romantic ideals.

Imagine my lack of surprise when I looked up the credits and found that this is based on a real-life adventure book written from her point of view.

Another flaw is the lack of realism and changes in their always-displayed nude bodies, Roeg having to insert awkward shots of another emaciated body to convey the idea that they are in bad health. Compare this with Tom Hanks' physical work in his desert island movie.

In summary: I like the idea, I like the acting, I like Roeg's constantly challenging cinematic work and inventive methods of telling a story, but the material this is based on feels fundamentally flawed and biased, with Reed's character making no sense as a result. This is fatal in a character study.