The Beach
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List Price: $14.98
Features
• NTSC
In Theaters : 11 February, 2000
DVD Release : 25 July, 2000 |
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The Beach description
Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the purity of his character in Titanic, and his role in The Beach is in many ways a polar opposite. As Richard, a young American seeking to "suck in the experience" of freestyle travel in Thailand, he's a chronic liar, a pot-smoking hedonist, an amoral lover, and ultimately an unstable snake in a doomed Garden of Eden. This crazy descent might be expected from the filmmakers of Trainspotting, but The Beach is a movie without a rudder, venturing into fascinating territory, promising a stimulating adventure, and then careening out of control. After receiving a not-so-secret map to a secluded island from a stoned-out loony (Robert Carlyle, full of dark portent and spittle), Richard sets out to find the hidden paradise with a young French couple (Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet). What they find is a tropical commune existing in delicate balance with Thai pot farmers, and before long--as always--there's trouble in paradise. There's trouble in the movie, too, as DiCaprio is reduced to histrionics when the plot turns into a muddled mix of Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now, with shark attacks tossed in for shallow tension. Director Danny Boyle attempts perfunctory romance and a few audacious moves (notably DiCaprio's vision of life as a violent video game), but what's the point? Tilda Swinton registers strongly as the commune's charismatic leader, but her character--and the entire film--remains largely undeveloped, and pretty scenery is no guarantee of a laudable film. --Jeff Shannon |
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The Beach Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
PARADISE LOST ?
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| Young male visitor to Thailand circa 1999 finds life of possibilities which never existed 30 years ago. Imagine thinking of this area of the world as an island paradise during Vietnam, Kent State et al. Anyway, Richard (DiCaprio)throws it all away, first by lying about a copy of an island map, then by allowing his sexual emotions to run rampant.He fails to see that the women of a small commune that embraces him are not to be trusted with sexual secrets, especially the dangerous Swinton, the seemingly self appointed ""leader of the pack". He also learns, too late, that pleasure seekers tend to be almost totally selfish and self centered; when the going gets tough, the tough get going-right back to "playland".Whatever, Leo is almost always up to a good piece of acting, and he succeeds here once again. If anything, it's the uneveness of the production, its shallowness that seems to have created an almost entirely split audience of reviewers. Adding superior cinematography does nothing to harm this reviewer's account. Give it a B minus. |
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The Beach dvd movie.