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This seaside holiday is a stylish looking movie with some excellent
acting, but below the surface it is hollow and empty, and has
all the hallmarks of a novel adaptation that has unfortunately
not captured the essence of the original story.
This is another version of the often told tale of an idealist
seeking paradise but no liking what he finds when he gets there.
Adapted from the popular book by Alex Garland, it features Leonardo
di Caprio in the leading role as Richard, an American backpacker
looking for a different kind of travelling experience. He gets
his chance after an encounter with the seemingly insane Daffy
(Robert Carlyle). Daffy tells Richard of an amazing beach paradise
where a secret group of travellers live. After finding a map
that purports to show the location of this secret place, Richard
enlists the help of a French couple (because he fancies the
girl) and they set off.
A number of hair raising adventures follow, some of which are
a little bizarre - most notably Richard's surreal 'Tarzan meets
Rambo meets Playstation' jungle interlude. All sorts of potential
issues and drama points are raised in this film, but most of
them not satisfyingly dealt with, in particular Richard's pointless
romantic encounters which take up plenty of time but don't add
any substance. Although I have not read the book, these seem
to me to be signs of things that are explored in more depth
in the novel but cannot be given justice on the big screen.
While not done as badly as The Bone Collector, the audience
is still left wondering about many things (such as why does
everyone do everything that Sal says?)
On the plus side, there is some great acting in this movie,
especially from di Caprio and Carlyle. Leo reminds us once again
that despite the off screen attention he gets that he is in
fact an actor with strong screen presence while Carlyle is in
excellent form in a small but important role.
Funniest moment:When Richard responds to a French prank (at
his expense) with sarcastic congratulations on the extent to
which French comedy has successfully conquered the world.
A mostly good movie, let down by loose ends. Go and see it
if you are planning a holiday to Thailand.
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