Probably one of my HBO diamonds in the rough films

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2017)

I did not have high hopes for this film. Coming off of the Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio was typecast as a teen heartthrob and everything about this film's marketing screamed that. I must have been watching something on HBO like a TV show and decided to watch this just to see how long I could put up with it. The first thing you realize, around the scene with Daffy, is that this definitely wasn't a teen movie. It's a very deep, complex film with a great story, a coming of age film that's...very realistic. I think after some years in college, I started to understand exactly the type of people who were on the island, because I went to college with a lot of people like that. The movie basically is a gigantic criticism of the sort of affluent trustafarians who backpack and go around the world frolicking and partying. The trustafarians are living in a bubble away from the natives, who are struggling to support their families. One scene in particular points out who the real bad guys in the movie were, and it's probably one of the most depressing in the history of film.
It's hard for me to get people to take me seriously to watch this film. Many saw the marketing for the film when it was released, the movie posters and won't give it a chance. It probably is one of my Top Ten movies, simply because of the many messages of the film. Many of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's early works are exceptional like this movie. Highly recommended.