La Plage

On a rating scale of 0 to 100; I gave The Beach a score of 72.

Many people have stopped themselves from seeing The Beach because of bad reviews from critics and the story of the crew wrecking an entire island to make the movie. One of those things, in my book, is a fact. They did wreck an island, and for pure entertainment, it's not worth it. Still, the bad reviews from the critics I disagree with, I found this quite a little gem, and if you agree with some of my other reviews, I recommend you don't hesitate when you see The Beach sitting on the drama shelf of your video store.

The wonders of modern technology, like computers, video games, cell phones, pagers and the internet, were designed to make our lives more enjoyable and facilitate communications. Yet for many, the complexity of the digital world is overwhelming, leading to a feeling of unreality…of being discconected. The desire to find something real – to connect with something or someone – is what drives Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young American backpacker who arrives in Thailand with adventure on his mind. Travel, he asserts, is the search for experience, the quest for something different. Richard and two friends (Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet) he meets in Thailand risk their lives travelling secret that is dubbed the beach resort for those who don't like beach resorts. At their destination, Richard and friends are welcomed into a community that lives on the beach. However, they soon discover that beneath this surface, this heaven on earth is less than perfect.

Leonardo DiCaprio declared he was not anti-Titanic when he did this film. And he isn't. DiCaprio shows on his face how successful he is when he did the film, and he is a show-off. But, darn it all, DiCaprio is good because we know he has the potential. He went a long length to do this movie, even director's favourite Ewan McGregor was passed over for DiCaprio, and rightfully so. I just can't picture anyone else playing the role. The acting hotline is also boiling with such talents as Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen and the masterful Robert Carlyle. Danny Boyle's direction is solid and he paces the film nicely, and the script is adapted well from Alex Garland's better-than-movie book. The film certainly has flaws, some scenes – particularly the ones with the dope growers – are just plain stupid and the film really loses it's feet towards the end, going completely out of control.

Still, The Beach is a film that is ripe for discussion. It features alluring scenery from the small island of Phuket, it has some striking visuals and an absorbing and intense message about finding your own paradise. It's not the best film of 2000, but The Beach remains a worthy attempt.

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)

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).

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.

I know the movie had decent ratings, but it didn't sound like an enjoyable movie. Well I was wrong, it was pretty good. Leo seems to have more decent movies then not so it's fairly safe to assume if he is in a movie it's worth the watch. Great acting on all parts. Tilda Swinton was great too as she usually is. The plot was interesting but a little predictable. I enjoyed Richard losing his grip on reality a little, it made it more believable. I played with the idea of rating it a 7 but it got more interesting even though it took a minute to get there so I'll stick with 8. Id recommend it to a friend.