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Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Director: Danny Boyle
Genre: Drama
Year: 2000
Rating: 3 / 5

Leonardo DiCaprio was considered a talented, young actor long before Titanic ever steamed into movie theatres, but that film forever changed the public's perception of him. He immediately entered the $20 million club, and his growing legions of fans (as well as his critics) eagerly anticipated his next offering. How would he top Titanic? How could he best capitalize on his burgeoning fame? To his credit, Leonardo DiCaprio tried to distance himself from his fans' adulation, and he dove into The Beach, a film that allowed him to explore a darker, more self-serving character. It is just too bad that his good intentions could not have produced a more compelling film.

Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an American tourist exploring Southeast Asia. At a seedy hotel, he meets Daffy (Robert Carlyle), a slightly unbalanced man who tells him about a secret island paradise hidden off the coast of Thailand. Richard does not think much of Daffy's rants until the following morning, when he finds a map tacked to his door. When he goes to find Daffy, however, the mysterious stranger is dead, having slashed his own wrists. Suddenly determined to learn more about this map, Richard grabs two French tourists, Etienne (Guillaume Canet) and Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen), and heads for this mythical paradise.

A long voyage, involving planes, buses, and a rickety boat, leaves the three travelers on a neighboring island, a short swim away from paradise. When they get there, however, they discover something much different than they could have imagined. Instead of an uninhabited island, they find a land divided into two distinct segments. On one side of the island, gun-toting farmers harvest marijuana to sell on the mainland. On the other, Richard and his new friends find a small commune, cut off from the world and living in a near-utopia. As the members of the commune welcome the three strangers into their midst, it becomes apparent that paradise does not come without a cost. But is it a price that Richard is willing to pay?

The true stars of The Beach are composer Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks) and cinematographer Darius Khondji. From the moment the three travelers reached their new paradise, Badalamenti's score flowed through me. His compositions here evoke fond remembrances of The Thin Red Line, another film which dealt with a paradise in the middle of a chaotic world. DiCaprio was brave to take on this edgier role, but his character is far from compelling. The problem is that none of the characters are, and none of them are flushed out as substantive supporting players. This fact, along with an absurd there-and-gone conclusion, causes the film's second hour to falter considerably. The Beach is a film that hints at a fair amount of promise, but one which ends up as little more than a very expensive travel video.

Cast:

Leonardo DiCaprio..........	Richard
Virginie Ledoyen..........	Francoise
Guillaume Canet..........	Etienne
Tilda Swinton..........	Sal
Robert Carlyle..........	Daffy

Certification: Rated R for violence, language, and sexual situations.
Running Time: 118 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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