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 déjà 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 Françoise (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, Étienne (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 Françoise 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.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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