Good movie, but Boyle's weakest.

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2000)

The Beach is a good movie but it could have been better. The movie is in two parts, the first being about a quest for paradise and the second one being about the price of paradise. And while the first one is good, it is the second one which makes this movie worth seeing. It was made by the usual Danny Boyle-John Hodge team, but someone is missing: Ewan McGregor. McGregor would have been perfect as Richard, but instead, it is Leonardo DiCaprio who got the role. While DiCaprio is not a bad actor, he is not a good one either. He can't ruin a movie by himself, but he can't make it better. He is okay as Richard, and in the second half of the movie he is even good, but he still lacks charisma. And that lack of charisma is made even more evident in the scenes between him and Robert Carlyle, which gives an awesome performance in a small role. When both actors are on screen, DiCaprio disappears. Virginie Ledoyen was chosen because she is absolutely gorgeous, not because of her acting talent. Her performance as FranÃ§oise is barely okay. The rest of the cast is good. Tilda Swinton shows the obsession of her character very well. There is, as in any Boyle movie, an excellent soundtrack which includes such artists as Moby, Blur, The Chemical Brothers, UNKLE, Asian Dub Foundation, Underworld and New Order. Sadly, there is also a song by All Saints(another proof that this is Danny Boyle's most commercial movie yet). The photography is Oscar-worthy. As I said earlier, the second part of the movie is the best one. Also, the love story is not very well done and too predictable. But despite some flaws, this is still an interesting movie. I also believe it is better to have already seen Shallow Grave before seeing this one, as it tackles similar themes shown in a very different way. It is fun to see how Boyle includes them in is most commercial movie yet(and hopefully, ever).
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