Has it's flaws but I was pleasantly surprised.

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2008)

It's a fascinating film that delves into a whole bounty of themes (though this sometimes comes across as the film not really knowing what it wants to be, to me at least) and features a sensational performance from DiCaprio. I saw Richard as naive and selfish and really sitting on the border between man and boy, and I think this comes across wonderfully in Leo's performance. He has instances of extreme maturity (like saving the French couple from the drug farmers when they first arrive on the island) and then moments of extreme immaturity, like talking about Daffy being incinerated while laughing.
Some of the choices in the style were really tasteless from my perspective (the scene with Richard and Francoise making love in the water and the scene with Richard inside the video game being the two best examples) but these instances were rare. It does drag a little bit in the middle and the relationship between Richard and Sal seemed really soap opera-esquire but once he was forced into isolation it really picked up into my favorite part of the entire film. This extremely unique study of the isolation of someone who's not quite a man driving him insane was exceptional. His ability to adapt to the jungle while also playing immature little games is just another example of this boy/man battle that was constant throughout.
The main story of the film is a bit contrived (I never really bought into the "hidden island paradise" thing) and the ending was a bit ridiculous as well. The dialogue was pretty poor sometimes to the point of being cringe-worthy but DiCaprio's exceptional performance really helps to hold together some of the sub-par elements of the film; Tilda Swinton was also pretty great. Overall, I nit-picked at a lot of little things but I found it to be quite good.