The journey is more exciting than the destination

Rating: 6/10 (29 October 2000)

I really enjoyed the first 40 or so minutes of "The Beach." Richard, Francoise and Etienne's journey to The Beach is full of fun, adventure and romance. Unfortunately, guess what happens about a third of the way into this movie? They find The Beach! And we quickly realize that, as is often the case, the journey was far more exciting than the destination.
Once at The Beach we find too many characters with too little to do. And while the movie focuses heavily upon Richard (Leo, of course) the other characters are largely forgotten. Even Francoise (played by the lovely Virginie Ledoyen), who is so vital to the first half of this movie, is largely forgotten in the second half.
The main failing of "The Beach" can be summed up by the character of Sal, the leader of The Beach. Without giving away the climatic moment of the movie, Sal becomes the pivotal character in that climax. However, we have learned so little about her up to that point that we simply have no emotional attachment to her character. The climax which should have been a "Wow!" is instead a "Ho-hum."
I suppose there are attempts here to make some political and social comments in regard to this utopia the characters have found, but I'm afraid this ain't no "Lord of the Flies." I wish the makers of this movie would start over from the top again. This time, have Richard and his friends keep searching, maybe come close, but never actually find The Beach.