"Our lives may depend on these vegetables." Middle-aged Gerald (Oliver Reed) puts an advert in a London newspaper seeking a young female companion to spend a year with him on a deserted tropical island. Lucy (Amanda Donohoe), an office clerk, responds, after a quick marriage of convenience they head off to a Pacific island near Australia. Based on a true story I can remember all the fuss when this was released, I have always been curious about wanting to watch it and after nearly 40 years I have finally done so. I hate to say it but I wasn't terribly impressed. The story starts off in London, Gerald is teaching young kids how to swim, then he's in his (Reed's) natural environment, the pub. This was great. I also really enjoyed seeing London, the fashions and the vehicles from the mid 1980's. One thing I did pick up on though were a couple of TV news segments, one about the serial killer known as The Yorkshire Ripper, the other the engagement of Prince Charles to Diana, these events took place around 1981 yet some of the motor cars seen are clearly from several years later. Once on the island Lucy strips off and is naked for much of the running time. I had a bit of a teenage crush on Amanda Dononhoe, beautiful as well as being a great actress. Oliver Reed is one of my favourite actors, however his best roles were definitely behind him at this stage in his career. Gerald is crude, chauvinistic and randy, he gets a bit tiresome after a while and I sadly wonder if Reed had to try very hard to play him. The two just aren't very compatible, they are both rather stubborn and selfish, and over the course of nearly two hours the movie loses its initial charm. It was shot in London and The Seychelles, the visual aspect - including that of Lucy's natural charms - are for me the best thing about the movie.
Review of Castaway
