"The Beach" Movie Review

"The Beach" movie poster.

"Alex Garland's novel centers on a young nicotine-addicted traveler named Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), an avid pop-culture buff with a particular love for video games and Vietnam War movies. While at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbor, who just committed suicide. The map supposedly leads to a legendary island paradise where some other wayward souls have settled." Written by Mike Arndt (Source below.)

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(From L to R) Virginie Ledoyen,
Leonardo DiCaprio, and Guillaume Canut.

FIRST IMPRESSION (Before Watching): I did a little research on this film because I had heard it was a terrible film. I didn't want to waste any time on a bad film even if Leonardo DiCaprio was in it. But it seems that it's more of a 'love it or hate it' film, there isn't any room for anything in between. Some of the 'love it' part is from director Danny Boyle's diehard fans. Now, I haven't seen any of his work - not even Slumdog Millionaire (it's on the list) or the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, courtesy of the morons who run NBC. But he has won an Oscar, so I'm thinking it's worth a try. But here's another moment for skepticism - the summary sounds like a bad, run-of-the-mill horror movie! These young, gorgeous kids run off to a beach where they have wild sex and do drugs until the locals get sick of them. That's what it sounds like to me. But I am looking forward to seeing DiCaprio nearly naked for two hours, so there's that!

AFTER WATCHING: It wasn't a horror movie, not by a long shot, but it was kind of weird. It was very picturesque and pretty. I don't know if I would watch it again. It seems one of those movies that would be more enjoyable if you were high while watching it.

None of the characters were really likable and rather selfish - letting a guy slowly die just so they can relax and party. Paterson Joseph's character was likable in his way. No one's acting particularly stood out, although no one was allowed the chance. No one was given a lot of face time except for DiCaprio, everyone else was literally background noise. The island was beautiful and given it's own kind of character in a way.

The deleted scenes on the dvd were interesting, but easy to see why they were deleted. Although Tilda Swinton got a lot more action in those scenes.

All in all, I thought it was an okay film. Interesting. I will probably read the book, hopefully I will find it more sustaining.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Richard.

Favorite Lines:

[first lines]
Richard: My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters. Not once you cross the ocean and cut yourself loose, looking for something more beautiful, something more exciting and yes, I admit, something more dangerous. So after eighteen hours in the back of an airplane, three dumb movies, two plastic meals, six beers and absolutely no sleep, I finally touch down; in Bangkok.

Françoise: Richard, this is just the kind of pretentious bullshit that Americans always say to French girls so they can sleep with them.

Richard: Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

[last lines]
Richard: And me, I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for, 'cause it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment... it lasts forever...

Summary information taken from International Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/)