Trama

A Fedex employee picks up a package from a woman which has red angel wings hand drawn on it. The package it delivered to man in Russia, who is the husband of the sender, and is cheating on her.

In 1995, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a time-obsessed systems analyst, who travels worldwide resolving productivity problems at FedEx depots. Chuck is in a warehouse in Russia and admonishes the staff that it took 87 hours and 22 minutes (as he mailed the package and put a timer in it) to deliver a package from Memphis USA to Nicolai in Russia. Chuck tells the staff that the days orders have to sorted and loaded into the delivery truck before the close of business. One of the incoming trucks is stuck in Kremlin, so Chuck takes the sorting stating next to the truck in Kremlin and gets all the packages sorted and loaded on to the outgoing trucks.

He is in a long-term relationship with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), whom he lives with in Memphis, Tennessee. The two talk of getting married but keep experiencing setbacks due to Chuck being constantly called away to work, which also starts to put a strain on their relationship. During a Christmas dinner, Chuck experiences pain due to an infected tooth, just before he is summoned to resolve a FedEx problem in Malaysia. Chuck promises to be back on New Year's Eve and says that he will be present for Kelly's dissertation presentation to the University on January 12th.

Before leaving, Kelly gives Chuck her grandfather's pocket watch with a photo of her in it. Chuck winds the watch to Memphis time so he is always reminded for Kelly. He gives her a small box, saying she can wait to open it on New Year's Eve when he returns, implying it is an engagement ring.

Flying through a violent storm, his Fedex cargo airplane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. The plane was carrying a lot of Fedex packages bound for Malaysia and Singapore. Chuck is able to escape the sinking plane and is saved by an inflatable life-raft but in the process, loses the raft's emergency locator transmitter. He clings to the life-raft, loses consciousness, and floats all night before being washed up on an island.

After he awakens, he explores the island and soon discovers that it is uninhabited. He had landed on the beach which was right next to a jungle and the island had a peak in the middle of it. At night, Chuck was startled by a strange thudding noise, but Chuck cannot see anything.

Several FedEx packages from the crashed plane wash up on the shore, as well as the corpse of one of the pilots (whom he buries).

In the following days, Chuck struggles to locate food and water. After seeing a ship on the horizon, he unsuccessfully tries to escape the island on a life raft but is prevented by the tide and injures his leg. Chuck realizes the chances of his rescue are low because of the wide search area, and opens most of the packages, finding items he uses to improve his living conditions. However, he does not open a package with golden angel wings painted on it, thinking the wings have symbolic meaning.

During a first attempt to make fire, Chuck receives a deep wound to his hand. In anger he throws several objects, including a Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball from one of the packages. A short time later he draws a face in the bloody hand-print on the ball, names it Wilson and begins talking to it. Due to severe pain from his infected tooth, he performs his own tooth extraction using a rock and an ice skate. The extraction is successful, but he passes out from the pain.

Four years later Chuck is dramatically thinner, bearded, his hair is longer, and he is wearing a loincloth. He has become adept at spearing fish and making fires. He also has regular conversations and arguments with Wilson.

After a large section from a portable toilet washes up on the island, Chuck uses it as a sail in the construction of a raft. After spending some time building and stocking the raft and deciding when the weather conditions will be optimal (using an Analemma he has created in his cave to monitor the time of year), he launches, using the sail to overcome the powerful surf. Chuck is accompanied by Wilson, the unopened FedEx package and his belongings in tow

After some time on the ocean, a storm nearly tears his raft apart. The following day, "Wilson" falls from the raft and is lost. He unsuccessfully attempts to rescue Wilson and is left to grieve his loss. Later, he is found drifting by a passing cargo ship.

Four weeks later, Chuck is returned to the mainland, where he learns he was presumed dead by his family and friends. As he is given a hero's welcome at the FedEx headquarters in Memphis, he meets his dentist Jerry Lovett (Chris Noth), who he discovers has married and had a daughter with Kelly. A homecoming party is held at Chuck's hotel room but Kelly is emotionally unable to greet him. Later that night, Chuck visits Kelly, where they bond for the last time; the two share a passionate kiss and confess their love for each other, but they both realize she cannot leave her family, and they part ways. Chuck returns the pocket watch Kelly gave him, and she gives him back his Jeep Cherokee that she had kept after his disappearance.

Chuck drives to Texas to return the angel-winged package to the address of the sender. Finding no one home, he leaves it at the door with a note saying the package saved his life. He departs in his vehicle and stops at a crossroads. A woman in a pickup truck, headed in the direction of the house, stops and gives information about where each road leads. As she drives away, Chuck notices the same angel wings painted on the tailgate of her truck. He looks down each road, trying to decide which way to go, smiling as he finally faces the direction the truck went.