Two pints of snake blood please!

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2002)

I really enjoyed The Beach. After Titanic, I was sceptical of DiCaprio movies, but here he's clearly trying to show he's a serious actor and he does a great job.
Considering himself to be superior in some way to the usual backpacking crowd, Richard (DiCaprio) is looking for something different that'll take him away from the tourists and give him a 'real' experience. He's given a map of an Island from a deranged man called Daffy (brilliantly played by Robert Carlyle) and in an intense conversation, is told of a beach on the Island that is completely hidden and offers paradise.
The next day he finds Daffy dead in his hotel room - he's committed suicide. Richard joins up with two French backpackers - Françoise (Virginie Ledoyen) and Étienne (Guillaume Canet) and sets out to find the Island...
The acting in the movie is great throughout with DiCaprio showing he's not just a pretty face. It's shot beautifully - this is one of the best films to show off your new DVD player as the vibrant scenery is breathtaking. The soundtrack fits perfectly and gives it the feeling of a modern movie - the ambient sounding music fits with the post rave tourist culture depicted in the film.
Without going into too much plot detail, things end up not being what they seem and Richard finds out a lot about himself, the way the world works and the frailty of the human condition when people are under stress. The ending is pessimistic as it tells us that there is no paradise - no promised land. Paradise is our normal lives at home with friends and family, with a job and a mundane life. Perhaps this is a truism - the grass is always greener right? I'm yet to decide.
The bad things about the movie were few but noticeable. It can be a little confusing at times and could have done with more explanation of certain happenings. Viewing the cut scenes on the DVD helps and it's a shame they weren't included in the film as they helped. For example there's a scene were Richard is acting out the role of a computer game character. Although you see him playing computer games earlier in the movie, it would have been nice to have this part of his personality emphasized more so that the later scene had greater continuity. The director's commentary is highly enjoyable though - one of the best I've seen.
Overall - a great movie that I'd recommend if you like your films with brains. A flawed classic.