Way behind Trainspotting and Shallow Grave but not that bad

Rating: 7/10 (8 October 2003)

Shallow Grave was great, Trainspotting genius, The Beach, uhh mediocre.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS OK, the positives. The Beach has a totally original idea, some convincing performances, a reliable director and absolutely stunning visuals.
So why did I come away unconvinced? With those positives I should be raving about this film as I was of Boyle classics 'Trainspotting' and 'Shallow Grave'. Maybe I expected too much. Maybe it was the absence of Ewan. Or maybe The Baech is just not as good
The stage where Di Caprio (who did, despite what some will have you think, put in a solid performance) goes mad in the woods happens far too rapidly. After being so deliberate and careful with the hour prior to this Boyle is careless here, as it appears Di caprio's character just suddenly snaps over one night alone in the woods. Boyle is better than that, as Christopher Eccleston's descent into madness in 'Shallow Grave' proves.
The film from this point seems to lose what it was aiming towards and is messy and ridculous leading to the final confrontation. The best bits seemed to originate from the fear and vicious attack of the sharks. The consequences for the wounded make for compelling viewing but are not central enough in the narrative and are therefore only brief. Inparticular when they are first swimming over to the 'paradise' island and the prank the couple play on Di Caprio about seeing 'a fin'. It is a superb example of paranoia and was well acted
The first half of this film is far better than the second. For a more accurate and complete demonstration of Boyle's directorial talents view the afore mentioned Ewan McGregor thrillers