In the movie Cast Away, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a FedEx engineer living in Memphis; he is in a LTR with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt.) FedEx sends Chuck to Malaysia but his plane crashes in a storm. He survives the crash and reaches an uninhabited island where he remains for four years before making a raft and finding his way back to civilization. Chuck learns that he has been declared dead and his former girlfriend is now married and has a child. Chuck and Kelly meet and realize they still love each other but they also realize that they cannot resume their relationship.
Admittedly, this is a situation that few people will ever face, but it presents a challenging dilemma.
1. Chuck did nothing wrong to justify Kelly abandoning hope of him being found.
2. Kelly acted reasonably in eventually deciding that Chuck was gone and would never return. Understandably, she later found someone else to be her lifetime partner.
3. The love between Chuck and Kelly never died.
4. Kelly's husband did nothing wrong in falling for Kelly and marrying her.
5. If Kelly left her husband for Chuck, she would probably be so consumed with guilt that she would be unhappy the rest of her life.
6. If Kelly stayed with her husband when she was still in love with Chuck, her husband would be cheated, because he deserves to have a wife who is in love with him.
7. And, of course, there is a child who deserves to have both a mom and dad in her home as he or she grows up.
The rescue of Chuck results in a situation in which every alternative resolution has a horrible downside. I can't conceive of a good outcome and I can't think of another situation which presents such an awful dilemma for three innocent participants.
What do you think?
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