La Plage

The Beach is interesting in that some people feel that its terrible while there are others who feel that it is an unsung hero of a movie. When I first saw The Beach, back in 2000, I thought it was OK, not as bad as most people said it was. But, just like with A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach grew on me and I had to watch it again. After seeing it a few more times I really started to pick up on what was going on and realized that at the end of the film the viewer has gone through quite an adventure with Dicaprio and co. The acting, cinematography, music, and story are great and hold up after repeat viewings. The Beach is one of those movies that I watch once a year as its enjoyability never decreases. This is a very solid film that will no doubt only increase in its popularity as time goes by as fans of The Beach are quite hardcore. Even though Dany Boyle has said that he is not very proud of The Beach I believe that he's made a gross error and misjudged his work because even after all these years The Beach still has a freshness to it that most films lose while they are still in the theaters. Because of these reasons The Beach will not die today.

This is one of the few times that I have been badly mislead by the reviews on IMDb! I avoided this film in the past because of this, but thought it would be a good "soft" film to watch on video with with a friend and his wife (she doesn't like difficult films).

What a revelation! I understand that people who have read the book may be disappointed, but as an uneducated viewer this is a fantastic film! Novel situation, novel location (beautiful images, even though the beach was re-modeled), novel plot, novel characters (all of whom are wildly different yet possible to sympathise with - except maybe for Bugs)... this film has everything in it that I find so desperately lacking in the average Hollywood pulp I'm forced to watch with friends.

And I *liked* the fact that the film made a few surprising changes in style... I hate knowing the end of a story at least an hour before it finally grinds its inevitable way there (see any "action" film).

Paradise - the search of it. Where are we at home? Could we live anywhere? Could we do without all the technical gadgets? I'm not saying living alone (though for some that may be the way to do and live it), but living without certain things that make life "easier" ... or at least that is how we perceive it.

Nature can be quite the enticing thing. And it is in this movie too. The Beach that lends the movie the title is quite the sight. And for a vacation spot ... I mean you could do far worse. Now there had been rumors that the filming was done on a beach or in a place that was supposed to not be touched by western civilization ... I remember Leonardo DiCaprio getting quite a lot of heat because some activists were not happy with him.

I can't confirm if they actually loitered or ruined nature in one way or another. If that really interests you, you surely will know a way to find out. I just thought I give an insentive to those who are interested in behind the scenes thing - real or not. Then there is also those who may take offense in the portrayal of certain animals (feeding into our fears and portraying them way more evil than they actually are - talking sharks here).

The movie itself is quite the decent thriller. Because the Paradise is not all fun and games. It is also filled with cliches and quite the predictable plot. Still the movie knows to hold up its tension and has quite a few gruesome moments too (graphic violence that is). Not a bad movie then, but not a masterpiece either in my book (while I came to finally admire Leo, his character here is not as relatable - choices and such. There's a general detachment from it all)

Recently a friend of mine watched "The Beach" after I told him my favorite quote (i.e. "Never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never cease to be polite, and never outstay your welcome"). He enjoyed the movie a whole lot and told me he hadn't watched it before because of it's low IMDb rating. That's when I decided to register here and post a comment - I hope I help someone else to watch the movie because it is worth a watch. What I personally like so much about this movie is that it is not just plain vanilla. It actually makes sense and can be a starting point for new thoughts and ideas - something I truly appreciate in a movie.

American back packer Richard is one of millions of travellers all looking for an unique experience. When in Bangkok he meets the slightly deranged Daffy who leaves him with stories and a map to a beach on a remote island that can't be seen from the sea. Taking with him 2 French travellers, Richard sets out to reach the island and finds it inhabited by a mix of people living as a small ideallic community. However internal conflicts rise up with their arrival and a copy of the map that he gave to some friends threaten to expose the paradise community for it's darker roots.

While I know that the critics were a little hard on this film when it came out, my main reason for not going to see it was a feeling of total apathy towards it. I wasn't interested in the story, have never read the book and didn't feel I had to see it because of either the big name star or the famous British team behind it. On television (for free) though, is a different matter and I gave it a go. Firstly the film does look great; I know there are tales of environmental damage to the area but it does look like paradise and is very lush. Director Boyle's direction is visually good too – whether it be drawing style from scenes or contrasting the city with the island or doing imaginative things like computer game style images, he does work well.

The plot is good on paper but isn't as well brought through. Richard's journey and initial settling into the island is involving and interesting but the main plot is really in the second half which is also where it becomes a weaker film. The film clearly is building into a teenage Hearts of Darkness type story where the DIY civilisation leads to cruelty and madness – this aim can be seen in an early scene where tourists sit watching Apocalypse Now in a waiting area. However his descent into madness is less well done and less convincing than Brando's. It all happens to quickly and, although with brutal consequences, it really needed to be seen to be more of a gradual distancing from the norm rather than a sudden leap into an abyss.

DiCaprio is not an actor that I particularly like or enjoy to watch but he is pretty good here. The fact that this film did as well as it did (in terms of box office) is probably mostly down to his star power, but he also gives a good performance. His madness is well portrayed and it's not his fault the film requires him to suddenly switch the way he does. Swinton is better as Sal, her `madness' is more subtle and is continual rather than sudden. The mix of multinational unknowns in the support roles are all good – even if, with so many good looking young people, it does feel a little like a music video shoot at times.

Overall I enjoyed the film even if it never got as involving as I hoped it would. The story lacks punch and point – a fact that can be seen in a very weak ending which was a real wash out in my opinion – but it is still good enough to watch once. The whole thing looks great and DiCaprio's star power and charisma helps keep the audience with him, it's just that the actual story doesn't quite have the rich feeling or depth that the tourist-film location does.