THE BEACH
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
THE BEACH, directed by Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING), is an entertaining,
but not especially original, adventure yarn. The film works as a star
vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio, but the rest of the casting is singularly
uninspired. The easy to cast role of the alluringly gorgeous French
woman, for example, is given to Virginie Ledoyen, who looks and acts
particularly bland. Still, as a travelogue from Hell, the picture does
have its charms.
John Hodge's script, based on Alex Garland's popular novel, suffers from
seeming little more than an amalgamation of a dozen other films from THE
LORD OF THE FLIES to AN APOCALYPSE NOW. Even at its most enjoyable, the
film loses a certain amount of credibility from the sense of d�j� vu
that it evokes. If it were better than some of the movies that it
imitates, this might not be a problem, but there isn't a scene which
isn't stronger in the original.
The story can be dichotomized into Paradise Found and Paradise Lost. In
the first, Richard (DiCaprio) learns of a mysterious Thai island with a
killer beach. Told of its existence by a crazed doper, appropriately
named Daffy (Robert Carlyle, TRAINSPOTTING), Richard retrieves Daffy's
map to the place after he discovers him dead in a blood-splattered room.
Lusting after Fran�oise (Ledoyen), his next-door neighbor in his fleabag
hotel, Richard invites her to join him in his trip to the Utopian beach.
The problem is that he has to take her boyfriend, �tienne (Guillaume
Canet), along. "We were headed for the great unknown, but, to get
there, you had to follow the regular tourist trail," Richard tells us of
their journey to their idyllic island.
When they get to the island, they find it inhabited by Uzi-carrying
"farmers," who guard their vast fields of marijuana. Most people would
beat a hasty retreat at this point, but not our hedonists. Go ahead,
imagine your dream beach. Would you be willing to risk your life to get
to it?
Well, they do and stumble upon a commune on the other side of the island
in the process. Run by a tough-as-nails, cultish leader, Sal (Tilda
Swinton), the commune somewhat reluctantly lets them stay.
Now, be honest, don't you think you can guess the rest of the movie?
Well, you can. Think Fran�oise will fall for Richard? Well, duh, he's
played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Think that the commune's peaceful
coexistence with the dope growers will last? See, you could have
written the screenplay.
Some of Boyle's staging choices are particularly surprising. He depicts
a gory land in which everything from sharks to gun-toting men can cause
blood to fly and skin to be ripped open. On the other hand, he gives us
probably the only ultra-remote beach on the planet in which the women
never go topless. And the star is French no less.
Richard's rich narration is one of the film's chief allures along with
its gorgeous scenery and dreamy music. "I found that love, like grief,
tends to fade away and be replaced by something more exciting," he
remarks at the start of his descent into madness.
"In the perfect beach resort, nothing is allowed to interrupt the
pursuit of pleasure, not even dying," Richard tells us. Sal certainly
doesn't want anything to spoil her clan's fun. She'll do whatever it
takes to keep the good times rolling.
The movie, which does have its pleasures, could have been so much better
if they hadn't blown their bankroll on DiCaprio. His performance is
good, but not strong enough to carry the entire picture.
THE BEACH runs 1:58. It is rated R for strong violence, some strong
sexuality, language and drug content. It would be acceptable for older
teenagers.
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Have I seen this movie: No
Will I see It: Yes
