As one sits through The Beach, they can not help being captivated. The film is visually stunning. Yet there are things about this film that grates on one’s nerves. Whether it is the boring sexual subplot, the quick way it changes moods, to underdeveloped characters, it leaves us wanting something.
It is so obvious that the movie, based on the 1997 book by Alex Garland, is directed towards Generation Y who are increasingly angst ridden and seeking acceptance. This is evident through the film’s music, to its message, even down to the fact that the main character Richard, Leonardo DiCaprio, is a pleasure seeking, Nintendo playing, college dropout.
Director Danny Boyle has done a good job bringing a complex young character to the screen and has chosen the right actor to do it. Only problem, although Leonardo gives the best performance in the film, the rest of the characters are flat. Luckily Leonardo’s charm and charisma does shine through in the film, even as his character becomes more
flawed.
Richard is searching for something in his life. Searching for meaning and existence in a world that otherwise is a mystery to him. His wandering takes the American to Bangkok where he finds the Asian life different but acceptable.
While staying in a very low class hotel, he is confronted by an oddball named Daffy. No, not a cartoon duck, but a cartoonish Scottish junkie played by Robert Carlyle.
Although Richard thinks this man is nuts, the junkie does have an interesting story to tell our young hero. It is one of a majestic beach in Thailand that many have heard about but few have seen. If found, this could be Richard’s ticket out of the normal and everyday life he has been living. An island only a select few go to live and then rarely return. A paradise lost.
When Daffy hands Richard a map to get to this beach, he knows what he must do. He encourages a French couple in the hotel, Etienne (Guillaume Canet) and Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen) to join him on his quest for
paradise.
The place is not what it is cracked up to be though. Once there, the three must escape a group of armed pot growers. After safely doing this, they find what they were looking for; the hidden society of hippie types that inhabit the other part of the beach.
This society is headed by a female authority figure named Sal (the intriguing but strange Tilda Swinton) who immediately takes a liking to Richard. Problem is that Richard is obsessed with Francoise. This is where the romantic tension builds and it is kind of silly. When the
romance heats up Beachends up seeming more like Dawsons Creek in paradise.
There is a rule that everyone on paradise knows. That is to keep the beach secret. They do not want others coming to inhabit because the more people who come, the less desirable it will become. The whole point was to get away from society, not to bring society in.
Richard has a secret though. A secret that when discovered, will destroy the paradise altogether. As Richard worries what will happen, he sees that, not only is the beach not perfect, it is driving him mad.
The look and feel of the island goes from beautiful and breathtaking, to dark, and treacherous. This is because of the excellent cinematography by Darius Khonji. The aerial shots are fascinating. Khonji does an excellent job evoking the different emotions needed for various scenes.
The direction by Boyle is inspired but nowhere near superior to his Trainspotting, and Shallow Grave. While The Beach does demonstrate that he can work well with beautiful locale, the characters leave lots to be desired. It is a problem that many movies based on books suffer; having to leave out a lot of the book’s plot
and character development to make a two hour movie.
All in all it is a good effort. It shows us that innocence can not be held onto forever. It also asks the question, is there such a thing as a perfect paradise?
Leonardo DiCaprio is electrifying (David Sheehan,, CBS-TV) in this adrenaline-drenched, tantalizingly seductive thriller from the director of Trainspo...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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