Nothing (much) new under the sun

Rating: 4/10 (26 November 2001)

Leo di Caprio flaunts his hairless chest, eats a caterpillar and goes nuts on a tropical island. The End.
This film about a dope-fuelled utopia hidden on a remote tropical isle off Thailand could have been much better. The first half is strong, and seems to follow a strong theme of travelling in hope being better than arriving. Robert Carlyle puts in a good but brief role as the crazed Daffy. Once the story arrives at the legendary beach, the film gradually unravels. Di Caprio may be a charismatic screen presence, but he doesn't have the acting ability to bring the story to life. The sequence in the jungle where he loses his marbles is particularly weak. Tilda Swinton, who is one of but a few reasons to watch this film, acts rings around him.
Bits of the film evoke other movies such as Apocalypse Now, Dr Strangelove and Lord of the Flies. This would appear to follow the book on which this film is based, in which the central character is obsessed with films and video games. This works okay in novels, where it is possible to transplant things from other media to fertilise a story, but if it's not done right (and it is not done right here) it only makes the film appear derivative. The novel "The Beach" was popular and very successful and this film would appear to be a sub-standard adaptation. Wonder why they changed Richard's character from English to American, hmm?