Ignored and underrated.

Rating: 8/10 (13 May 2006)

The Beach (2000)- 4/5
Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen, Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Guillaume Canet, Paterson Joseph. Directed by Danny Boyle.
Spoilers herein.
People often bash "The Beach" because of either two reasons: it is under-developed, or Leonardo DiCaprio "sucked" in it. I highly think differently on both counts. It is a film with an exhilarating direction by Danny Boyle with an interesting concept and characters.
A young, curious, nicotine-addicted man named Richard travels to Thailand in search of something new. He meets a crazy hotel neighbor named Daffy who tells him about a secret island that he refers to as paradise. Daffy kills himself shortly after and leaves a map for Richard. Curious on whether the island exists, he invites two French friends from the hotel to come with him on a journey to the island. They meet others on the island who have very similar interests to Richard about escaping the real world to paradise, but all of that can soon change.
"The Beach" shouldn't really have as much negative feedback as it often gets. DiCaprio gives a good post-"Titanic" performance, where he would later have even better roles ("Gangs of New York", "The Aviator"). Boyle's direction is solid and very crazy at times. The cinematography is stunning, and gives both a visceral blue and gritty picture.
There are only a few flaws, and the high majority of them are in the last 1/3 or so of the film. Richard's descent into madness happens way too quickly, and some of his hallucinations and thoughts are rather confusing. His character undergoes changes and is able to recover; I didn't really understand what the director was trying to say in that aside of giving references to films like "Apocalypse Now" and novels like "Lord of the Flies." Overall, "The Beach" is a movie that I can highly recommend to anyone who is need for something different, like the protagonist in the film. It gets better on each very, but isn't ever a perfect piece. While not a great movie, "The Beach" was an overlooked visual piece that deserves more respect than it gets.