It isn't as good as the book, but it's a great film nevertheless.

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2002)

I saw this movie on its opening day since its trailers and their overall premise fascinated me so much. The idea of a modern-day hippie adventure on an exotic island with psychedelic techno music blaring in the background somehow fascinated me (if you've seen my own artwork, you'd understand why. ;) ).
I wasn't disappointed, and later I rushed out to devour the novel. I'm forced to admit that the film is nowhere near as gripping as Alex Garland's original material--that's because Hollywood decided to tamper with certain elements in an attempt to protect its own investment. But "The Beach" nevertheless remains a gripping film that still convincingly delivers its universal message.
WARNING: spoilers ahead.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives another spellbinding performance as Richard, the young man who represents so much of today's generations, including my own, who feel that all the world has already been predesigned and mapped out for them with no room to carve their own personal niche; he wants to experience something truly different. So, after spending the typical modern life of being saturated with pop culture, videogames, cartoons, favourite rock bands and movies, he sets off on a quest with a young couple from Paris, Etienne and Francoise, to find a rumoured beautiful island which is supposed to be a perfect paradise untouched by modern life.
Now, certain elements from the original book are understandable in their being changed--for example, everybody underwent severe food poisoning after eating tainted food in one chapter, and the grotesque situation would have simply been too unworkable in a motion picture. But other elements have been changed simply due to the hope of luring in audiences: in this film, Richard is pretty selfish, Etienne and Richard bicker almost constantly, and Richard finally ends up with Etienne's girlfriend Francoise. This is the typical Hollywood formula. But the original book does it much better--Richard, who is English, is more sensitive to others' personal feelings, he and Etienne become genuine friends, and while Richard finds himself involuntarily attracted to Francoise, he does everything he can to keep said problem under control simply because he cares about her, and especially the personal feelings of his friend Etienne, to let any libido get in the way of anything and get anyone hurt. This situation causes far more tension and genuine concern, and would have worked so much more beautifully on film.
Such goofy misjudgements on behalf of Hollywood aside, the strengths of the movie outweigh its obvious flaws. Danny Boyle's direction is absolutely gorgeous, with magnificent photography and a beautiful score to match. The soundtrack's songs are a lot of fun (I can't begin to recommend both CDs to this film enough). Tilda Swinton threatens to steal the show with a powerful potrayal of Sal, and despite one bedroom scene which doesn't belong in the story she still captures the spirit of the original novel perfectly in her obsessive desire to keep everything "perfect" at all costs. Lars Artenz-Hansen is all too convincing as the obnoxious Bugs, and Guillaume Canet as Etienne gives a performance which shows that he would have really been fantastic if allowed to portray the character as Garland had originally envisioned.
In short, the movie serves mostly as an excellent introduction to the book and win it score of new readers. The movie stands great on its own, but after reading the book you'll enjoy "piecing" the two together as companion pieces so you can really appreciate it all as a whole.
Oh yes, I also want to note that the deleted scenes on this DVD are genuinely fascinating and not mere "throwaways"--especially the tense scene featuring Etienne in a tent. If you like the movie, check these out!