William’s Video Reviews

The Beach

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Robert Carlyle, Paterson Joseph and Tilda Swinton. Written by John Hodge, based on the novel by Alex Garland. Directed by Danny Boyle.

As I was flipping channels the other night, I came across this film that was released last summer, and seemingly over-looked by me, as well as many of my peers. My belief is that it was marketed entirely incorrectly. This is a fine, fine film that is absolutely NOTHING like I expected it to be.

Leo plays Richard, a young (and here I mean YOUNG, he’s supposed to be under 21 I believe) man in search of adventure, currently travelling through Bangkok; as the opening narration informs us. After a brief adventure with snake blood (YUCK!), he meets Daffy (Robert Carlyle), who informs Richard that there is a perfect Beach, that is the closest thing to paradise on Earth. He even gives Richard a map to the beach. Richard impulsively invites his next door neighbors, Francoise & Etienne (Ledoyen and Canet) a French couple to join him on his journey.

The three travel quickly to a deserted island in the middle of the gulf of Thailand, where the sand is pure, and the beach is perfect. There’s also several surprises on the island, none of which I will give away here, because, after-all, I want you to see this film.

I’m not sure what my expectations were, I’d heard virtually NOTHING about this movie since it’s release, and I didn’t even realize that it was directed by Danny Boyle, who did Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. Perhaps it’s because Boyle’s last film A Life Less Ordinary didn’t do as well as his previous two (and I haven’t in fact seen it yet), that I hadn’t heard the fanfare. Whatever my expectations were, about half an hour into the film, they were COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY. This is a fantastic film, so much so, that I watched it a second time merely two days later with my girlfriend, so she could share in my find!

The acting isn’t what is great here, although there’s some fine work, especially by Leyoden and Tilda Swinton. Robert Carlyle is also perfectly cast, even though his appearance is nothing more than an extended cameo. Leyoden was familiar to me, seeing is I love current French cinema, and she’s a modern day Catherine Deneauve. She is especially fetching in this tropical setting.

Also especially nice is the eclectic soundtrack, with numbers from Moby ("Porcelain"), Underworld ("Ball"), New Order ("Brutal") and All Saints ("Pure Shores"), and a wonderful score by long-time David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti.

What makes this film great is the story and the theme. Time and time again in literature we’re told that Utopias don’t work, and this film shows us that, in a starkness that is harshly contrasted against the beauty of the scenery.

I’m not sure why this film didn’t do very well, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s being shown on HBO this month, and I highly, highly recommend it.

My Rating **** out of 5