Tisk, tisk.

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2000)

"Oh my god everyone Leo has a new movie coming out." That is basically what happens when Leonardo DiCaprio's name is even uttered since becoming a teen heartthrob in 1997's Best Picture "Titanic". Unfortunately people don't remember Leo's best work playing Johnny Depp's mentally challenged little brother Arnie, which earned him his only Oscar nomination, in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". His new film "The Beach" was the victim of mass hype hurting your opinion of the film before you even see it because you are just expecting something more than it is.
Leo portrays Richard, a young traveler from America, who is looking to do more than just the usual tourist type activities. Luckily his hotel room is next door to Daffy Duck's. That is the alias of the next door neighbor, played by Robert Carlyle, who tells Richard about this "perfect" beach out in the pacific. Daffy draws Richard a map and continues his own little descent into insanity. Richard takes him up on the offer asking a young French couple, played by Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet, who also accept the offer.
The young travelers go on their journey and find the beach, which is inhabited by a whole village of 20 somethings. Richard and company think they are in paradise but as the tagline says "innocence never lasts forever".
I'll leave the rest shot in the air because Richard goes on his own little surreal journey into madness, trying to fight what's real with what's not.
The film was well directed by Trainspotting alumni Danny Boyle but the story itself is simply lacking. The film as a whole was put together well with beautiful cinematography, courtesy of the Thailand filming locations, but unfortunately it just wasn't written or told very well. Sometimes that just happens. I do have to say that I did enjoy the "videogame" scene with Richard tramping through the woods.
All in all a well made film but lacking in story and plot. "The Beach" just became very uninteresting once everybody stopped having fun because then neither do you.
6/10