Customer Reviews

The Beach

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

Taken for it's face value "The Beach" is an entertaining, lavish and exiting movie working on 2 levels: The humoristic, superficial contemporary picture of a backpacker in beautiful surroundings, which becomes second nature to the moviegoer and vanishing just as quickly as the coke and popcorn enjoyed, if this is what one is looking for - or leaving the committed moviegoer with a nagging point of a knife constantly rousing the consciousness making it wonder: What was that all about? Why? - and following a further dive into the inner deep likewise little by little brings up to mind questions and replies. The message is clear - it does, however, require efforts of the moviegoer her/himself to put words to it. And exactly that situation has been the wish of Danny Boyle, I believe!

If one has expectations about experiencing a "Trainspotting 2", a successor to "Titanic" with a Jack Dawson risen from the dead - or a true copy of Alex Garland's book by the same name - well, then you will most likely return home in disappointment - as it meets with none of these. "The Beach" has been scripted freely after the book, and going to the theater with an open mind and wide open eyes - well, then you will be awarded with 2 hrs. of entertainment with an incredibly well-playing Leonardo DiCaprio, beautiful footage by Darius Khondji, exciting and surprising sound-, picture- and light effects and not the least a lot to think about following in respect to our modern society and materialistic based happiness!

With this role Leonardo DiCaprio has returned pretty close to his earliest and very highly acknowledged performances of misfit characters as i.e. Arnie (What's Eating Gilbert Grape), Arthur Rimbaud (Total Eclipse), Jim (Basket Ball Diaries) and Hank (Marvin's Room). His acting appears amazingly effortless - but each single facial expression and body movement is thoroughly considered and communicates an altered state of mind and/or messages in split seconds. He is capable of looking pure lily-white, make true madness shine from his eyes, with a single sharp view belch out icy coldness but not the least have the audience shed a tear with him when he expresses deep emotions. His acting is beyond compare - strong, charismatic and seducing. Shame only that he does still have to suffer from the "Jack Dawson-syndrome" - people who knows the actor are fully aware of the fact that "Titanic" was the outsider and a solitary experience among his choices of roles and that exactly "Richard" is so much closer to the type of characters he wishes to work with and likewise is portraying so extremely well - but apparently the media won't spare him a chance to put that image behind...

The movie is obviously dominated by DiCaprio in his capacity of presenting the main character "Richard" and as - in similarity with the book - the other characters are generally only faintly defined you are left with less remembrance of their parts and performances. The choice of Robert Carlyle as the crazy drug-addict "Daffy" is, however, perfect casting. He is trustworthy and plays well against DiCaprio. Tilda Swinton is likewise exactly the right choice for the character of the community's cold, self-appointed leader "Sal". She expresses just the perfect arrogance, cynicism, distance and not the least lack of sex appeal as the role requires of this fanatic character. Scandinavian actors are likewise to be found among the cast - and although appearing in just a small part - Norwegian Lars Arentz-Hansen gives us a fine performance as the very little symphatic character "Bugs". With his few lines he succeeds to draw a picture of a self-satisfied, I-know-better type, who does suddenly feel a threat against his "status" in the group due to Richard's rising popularity.

Less successfully does it succeed the two French actors to fill in their roles. Guillaume Canet finds himself in a difficult situation as his role is a fusion of 2 characters, namely: "Etienne", the male part of the French lovers and the character "Jed" in the book, who represented the only islander with just some reasonable sense left. This cloning makes the character "Etienne" appear as a weak, soft and almost sugar-sweet person, which I doubt very much has been the original intention. Somehow he has ended up somewhere "between 2 chairs". Virginie Ledoyen is surely pretty looking as well as a sweet and very French girl - but maybe too French! What ever the reason there seems to be no real "spark" between her and DiCaprio in the love scenes. Maybe the chemistry between these 2 actors hasn't been a perfect one - for this part an actress with same kind of on screen charisma and cheerfulness as Kate Winslet and Claire Danes seems lacking.

The weakest parts of the movie relates primarily to a missing time indication and a triangle drama that does never really turn into any drama. Those having read the book are aware of the fact that the situation at the beach doesn't really start to get out of hand untill some 250 pages into the book and some 6-8 months following "Richard's" arrival on the island. Hence Richard's altered mentally state is slowly built up in the book. In the movie though one does get the impression that everything happens within a time frame of few weeks only. Therefore I do understand those movie-goers who doesn't immediately grasp the idea of the meaning with his sudden change of mind and what the scenes in "the jungle" are all about. In the book one does likewise have constant expectations of a triangle love-drama which, however, never comes about - in the movie this triangle scenario is further developed but, unfortunately, it takes place totally without any drama and hence leaves you without the expected tension and intrigues, which is really a pity.

As stipulated in the beginning "The Beach" should be experienced as a movie of it's own and shouldn't be the subject to any comparisons what-so-ever. By accepting it as it is I can promise the moviegoer a really great film experience with a fresh sense of humor, heavy satire, lavish footage, food for thoughts meeting the individual need and not the least a happy return to the screen of a tremendously well acting DiCaprio! I'll give it 4 out of 5 possible stars.

Kirsten Langer, Denmark

I've read Garland's novel and I must say that it's a difficult exercise to adapt this novel for the screen. But in general, I think that the adaptation Boyle and his team made was rather good. The movie reviewers have tried to kill this film, I don't know why... Maybe because they didn't really understand it.... Cause The Beach goes in many directions, it's a movie on which it's not easy to stick a label... It's not an adventure movie, nor an action movie... neither a love story, nor an "art et essai" film, it's maybe all those categories... and probably the reason why this movie "failed" with large audiences...

The Beach is a sort of metaphor... It tells the story of a quest... a quest for humanity and above all a discovery of how human beeings can become when they want to protect their selfish "little universe"... and how they react when they are confronted with the reality... Different themes are broached : utopia of a better world, death, honesty, betrayal, madness, sectarianism, violence, drugs... It's also a bitter critic of our way of life, of our western culture and of our incompetence to escape from it... A critic also of the american hegemony...

Well... technically, The Beach is a wonder... The french Darius Khonji has, as usual, put all his talents in the cinematography and captured all the beauties of Thailand... The soundtrack is completely adapted with Danny Boyle's way of filming; dynamic, going from one scene to another, abrupt, rough... Actors-wise, the british actors Paterson Joseph (Keatty) and Tilda Swinton (Sals) deserved longer roles, the french Guillaume Canet as well... But their characters in the novel are not very developed either so... The rest of the cast (Swedish, danish, spanish actors) are good... and the brief scenes with the extraordinary Robert Carlyle (playing Daffy) are pure pleasure to watch (certainly a pleasure for him too)...

Well, and DiCaprio ? He proves, once more in this film, if needed, what a talented actor he is. Maybe the young girls who felt in love with his Jack Dawson in Titanic or with Romeo will be disappointed here... His character is not a romantic but rather an envious, lying, selfish young man... a complex character like DiCaprio loves them... (see his wonderful performance in BaskeytBall Diaries, Total Eclipse or This Boy's Life among others...). I wish him other interesting parts like this one.

In conclusion : The Beach, even if it's not a masterpiece is a really good movie to discover... if you're not allergic to the films that are a little different than the ususal ones.

Bye... and excuse my hesitating english... my mother tongue is french !

I had the misfortune to view this movie, and it stinks like a rotting seagull. A meandering mess of a flick, with no merits whatsoever, other than some nice scenery. Most ridiculous is the ending when DiCaprio is looking at a pic of him and his fellow beach dwellers after he returns to society, reminiscing about the happy times there. What he seems to have forgotten is that pretty much everyone on the beach hated him, and that he and he alone brought an end to their sandy utopia. Indeed he spends much of his time on the island alone in the woods going a bit loopy. A disappointing release from the director of 'Trainspotting', which is beginning to look more and more like a fluke given that he also made the terrible 'Life Less Ordinary'. Do yourself a favor and watch 'Lord Of The Flies' instead. Piggy's cracked glasses alone are more entertaining than this.

The reason I'm taking a star off is because I've read the novel by Alex Garland. The novel is more intense and I was stunned by the hippie meltdown Armageddon at the end. If you liked the movie, definitely check out the book.

Like FIGHT CLUB and DONNIE DARKO, THE BEACH is a challenging film, and what makes it different is that you're watching a movie from the point of view of character who cracks up. You're drifting into dangerous new waters when you can't trust the star of the movie.
I also loved how paradise was, again, defiled by human beings--no matter how noble their efforts were.
If you're looking for Leonardo in a lame BLUE LAGOON-ish bit of tropical fluff, forget it: THE BEACH has something deeper and darker to say about this world's "paradise."

Not the best movie he's done, kinda dragged in some parts. The music wasn't really great either but does anyone know who sings the music in the previews on TV? It's a woman, sounds ... uh, african maybe? I don't really know but if someone could tell that be great, thanks!

If you know anything about philosophy, even the basics, you are probably familiar with Plato's allegory of the cave or the concept of "real" and "ideal" contrasts in everyday life. This book, made into a film, is an excellent example of the real and ideal contrasts. Ideal things are those that are divinely inspired: good, beauty and love. The real are things that are striving for ideals but are tainted by the human perception and emotions. These things are good, beauty and love mixed in with jealousy, hate, regret, envy, fear and control. Ideal or "platonic" love is much different that real love.
In THE BEACH, Richard, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is striving for the ideal. His whole life is spent travelling and searching for something better. When he finds it in The Beach, a little piece of divinity, he knows immediately that humans can't possible experience something so perfect without tainting it. Strangely, what happens is that everything that he felt before, he feels with increasing intensity. He feels love, sex, violence, everything more strongly (and more acceptable), and uses drugs as an escape or to intensify his experience. But, and here's the warning to us all, everything blows up in his face, driving him to breakdown.
To me, this film is a warning of the dangers of striving for something that we can't understand nevertheless control. the "Ideal" is not something for humans to experience in a tainted environment. This film also causes us to question the nature of humans: Good, Evil or just Misunderstood?
So, if you have been looking for something a little creepy, a little extreme, a little emotional, a love story, a murderstory, a comedy, a tragedy, or just something that will be a feast for your philosophical mind, this is the film for you. Or, if you just want to see a cool movie, there's lots of drugs, lots of sex, lots of violence (fighting, guns and the like)... this is the movie for you too!

It's rare that I ever see a movie that moves me. No matter what level. This movie left me in a different world for days after I saw it. I can't describe how much I love this.

Hope you all enjoy it as well.

I saw this movie in the tropical Cancun and even with Spanish subtitles I was dissapointed. Now the Dvd did it little more justice. The truth is the movie had an amazing backdrop and a sound score to match but like many of Leo's movies the script and plot were lacking in every major area. If the script had been as well constructed as that island was beautiful this movie could have taking more awards than I can count. I personally think Leo is has bit of inate talent but if he continues to take scripts and movies directed like this he wont be able to act himself out of a wet paper bag.

Why do people dislike this movie so much? Or should I say, why do they dislike it to the point that they would vote it "worst movie of the year?" I read the book first, and when the movie came out, I decided I wanted to see it despite the lukewarm reviews it was getting. (Although I loved the book, I felt it too had some flaws, so I was expecting some in the movie as well.) I ended up waiting for the video release so that if it was truly terrible, at least I would only be out two dollars. Well, I was surprised to see that although it wasn't a masterpiece, it wasn't trash either (in my opinion).

Richard is a 20-something American traveler in Thailand. He is presented with a map to an island by a half-crazed but likeable Scot going by the name of "Daffy Duck", who subsequently kills himself in his hostel room. Richard, who is a little unsettled at the tourist-trap environment he has experienced so far on his journey, is curious enough to try to make it to this island paradise. He gets a young French couple to go with him, but before the last leg of the trip, he also gives a copy of the map (on a whim) to a group of American guys he has just met. He doesn't tell Francoise or Etienne (the French couple) that he is doing this, since the map is supposed to be a secret... and most viewers can guess that betraying this secret becomes Richard's downfall.

I won't go any further into the story than that. If you have read the book, be prepared for some serious plot changes in the movie. This usually bothers me but for some reason, with the exception of the predictable movie romance between Richard and Francoise, it didn't bug me this time. I think of it as two distinct tellings of the same basic story, and the themes and lessons of the movie remain true to the book.

I have been a fan of Leo Dicaprio since he was Luke on Growing Pains, thru his oscar nomination as Johnny Depps brother in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape,to his tortured Romeo in Romeo & Julitte, to his 15 minute cameo in the wonderful Celebrity & up to & including this picture. However, the movie itself stinks. It's some type of goofy Heart of Darkness/Apocolypse Now wannabe, never nearing the greatness of those stories. Instead, it innanely focuses on a Utopian beachfront that, for how secluded its supposed to be, seems easily found by friends and foes alike. Leo's exile to the hilltop to await the arrival of the unsuspecting trespassers turns his character, for some reason,(island fever?) into some deranged Martin Sheen like killer. Its only when he witnesses killing close up that he begins to have second thoughts about what he's actually defending & why he's really there; and for that matter, what he's really doing with his life. Like I said, Dicaprio is fine, even with this banal material. Lets just try to forget he did this picture and hope that he waits for another story worthy of his acting abilities( like Gilbert Grape, the Basketball Diaries, Titanic, etc...).