It's been a very long time since I read Daniel Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe," so a good deal of the story matter in the movie seemed relatively fresh to me, although from what I do remember of it the movie is a pretty good adaptation of the novel. It revolves around the most obvious theme of loneliness, as Crusoe deals with life on this deserted island, with only a dog and a cat who also survived the shipwreck as his companions. As such, the movie has every now and then some spiritual reflections (not surprising, since Defoe himself was a Christian and a religious "dissenter") as Crusoe also finds himself having to make peace with God. For the most part all that was well portrayed by Daniel O'Herlihy, who for the majority of the movie is putting on a one man show.
One thing that I thought was lacking in this, though (and it's a significant weakness) is any real sense of emotion. Much of the story of Crusoe's time alone on the island is told by a rather cold narration of Defoe's writing, and that basically matched the overall emotional feel of the movie. It was well filmed, and it did a decent enough job of portraying Crusoe's struggles and adjustments, but O'Herlihy never really drew me in to the character and never gave me any feel for him. To be perfectly honest, the only real sense of emotion I got from this revolved around Rex, the dog - his death and the last shots of the film. I admit that as Crusoe walked toward the boat that would finally rescue him I thought "aren't you even going to go to Rex's grave to say good bye?" So the last shot (of Crusoe looking back at the island from the boat and hearing Rex's bark) hit a bit of a nerve with me.
Otherwise, it's a technically well made movie; just surprisingly lacking in real feeling. (5/10)
One thing that I thought was lacking in this, though (and it's a significant weakness) is any real sense of emotion. Much of the story of Crusoe's time alone on the island is told by a rather cold narration of Defoe's writing, and that basically matched the overall emotional feel of the movie. It was well filmed, and it did a decent enough job of portraying Crusoe's struggles and adjustments, but O'Herlihy never really drew me in to the character and never gave me any feel for him. To be perfectly honest, the only real sense of emotion I got from this revolved around Rex, the dog - his death and the last shots of the film. I admit that as Crusoe walked toward the boat that would finally rescue him I thought "aren't you even going to go to Rex's grave to say good bye?" So the last shot (of Crusoe looking back at the island from the boat and hearing Rex's bark) hit a bit of a nerve with me.
Otherwise, it's a technically well made movie; just surprisingly lacking in real feeling. (5/10)