'The Beach' in which Richard, a young traveler is addicted to nicotine, video games and Vietnam War movies. In a Bangkok hotel he is given a map which leads him to a legendary island paradise...
My best friend was really keen to watch this movie as she has just returned back from a 3 month trip to Thailand (where the film is set) and she had also read the book out there....I thought hey why not, Leo was still looking rather good looking back in those days.
I was really enjoying the film at first, I found it very interesting and I thought the 3 main actors DiCaprio, Ledoyen and Canet were excellent, but as the story continues I found myself getting a little bored.
The movie starts with Richard (Dicaprio) arriving in Bangkok looking for action. On his first night he is awoken by Daffy (Carlyle) a 'crazy' guy who talks of a magical secret Island. The next day Richard finds a map attached to his door and Daffy dead.
Richard asks his to neighbors Françoise and Etienne (Ledoyen and Canet) if they would like to go on a trip and the adventure begins, they travel across Thailand in search of this perfect Island, and Richard meets a couple of friends along the way and the day before he leaves makes the mistake of leaving a copy of a map with them.
They finally find the Island and it becomes evident the Richard has an infatuation with one of his traveling partners. Once they settle into the Island everything seems perfect for a little while until Richard has to take a trip back to the mainland which triggers events that have catastrophic consequences for the natives of the Island and Richard.
Like I mentioned above I found the beginning of the story interesting and I also thought it picked up again at the end.
If you have read the book apparently it is quite different from the film, there are new characters and some characters are missed out. There are also a couple of (not to be missed) sex scenes not mentioned in the book.
All in all I'd say catch this movie if it's on TV, or maybe rent it, but I would go as far to suggest buying it.
***CAST***
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Robert Carlyle, Daniel York
The Beach [2000]
Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the cloying wholesomeness of his
... more
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...
The Beach [2000]
Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the cloying wholesomeness of his
... more
character inTitanic, and his role inThe Beachis in many ways a polar opposite. As Richard, a young American seeking to "suck in the experience" of freestyle travel in Th...
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