The Beach looks and sounds fantastic.
The Beach (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:114
Fresh:22
Rotten:92
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Critics say The Beach is unfocused and muddled, a shallow adaptation of the novel it is based on. Points go to the gorgeous cinematography, though.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Richard (DiCaprio) is a typical twenty-something American whose head is filled with an absurd amount of pop-culture and video game references. While travelling in Thailand in order to broaden his... Richard (DiCaprio) is a typical twenty-something American whose head is filled with an absurd amount of pop-culture and video game references. While travelling in Thailand in order to broaden his horizons and gain some real world experience, he meets Daffy (Carlyle), a crazy Englishman who gives Richard a mysterious map before committing suicide. Apparently the map leads to an idyllic island where the inhabitants live in a natural paradise. Intrigued, Richard convinces two French acquaintances, Francoise and Etienne (Ledoyen and Canet), to journey with him and see if Daffy was right. Upon reaching the island, Richard discovers that it does, in fact, appear to be the dream that Daffy had promised. They meet Sal (Swinton), a strong-willed woman and leader of the group. Sal has made a pact with the weapon-wielding drug dealers who control the island that her group can remain there provided no new bodies arrive. Richard has a brief tryst with Francoise, but she abandons him when she discovers that he has had another sexual encounter while gathering supplies from the mainland. And when two drugged-out Americans show up and crash the party, Richard's newfound Utopia is threatened once and for all. [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Robert Carlyle, Paterson Joseph, Jerry Swindall, Peter Youngblood Hills, Lars Arentz Hansen, Staffan Kihlbom, Magnus Lindgren, Victoria Smurfit
Director: Danny Boyle
Director: Danny Boyle
Screenwriter: John Hodge
Producer: Andrew MacDonald
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti
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Reviews for The Beach
Leo is surprisingly masculine, charming and effective in this stylish, gorgeous, but clumsily structured Nintendo-generation update of Lord of the Flies.
A big part of the problem with The Beach is that most of its characters are so thinly developed, their behavior feels completely arbitrary.
Structured for an audience more familiar with MTV's Road Rules than with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
It could have been a seductive fable with a concealed sting; instead, it's just a lazy moral tale.
It's hobbled by odd plot contrivances and some less-than-stellar acting from DiCaprio.
The Beach is a flick only Leo's mom and his Schwab broker could love.
DiCaprio's teen idol status may be the primary reason he gets so much ink in the press now, but his talent will keep his name in the memory for years to come.
A movie that tries to take us from heaven to hell but winds up leaving us in limbo: exasperated and dumfounded.
The Beach taps into something powerful that can't be overwhelmed by individual moments of silliness.
A kind of adventure holiday for the MTV generation rather than a cautionary tale of a society that turns in on itself.
The Beach is beautiful, everyone has a lovely tan. But it's nothing to write home about.
Latest News for The Beach
December 07, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Apocalypto" Is Bloody Good; "Blood Diamond" Needs Polish; "Unaccompanied" Is Minor; "Holiday" Is So-So
This week at the movies, we've got declining civilizations ("Apocalypto," directed by Mel Gibson), conflict diamonds ("Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo... More...
August 24, 2005:
Danny Boyle's "Sun" Begins to Shine
Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from Fox Searchlight regarding Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" -- and the fact that it began shooting yesterday. More...
June 29, 2005:
Leo Takes a Fancy to Zwick's "Diamond"
Director Ed Zwick ("Glory") and his frequent writing partner, Marshall Herskovitz, will bring "The Blood Diamond" to the big screen, and they're hoping to... More...
February 04, 2005:
"Halo" Floating Toward the Big Screen
Microsoft is close to finalizing terms with writer Alex Garland to script a film based upon the "Halo" video games, Variety reports. The game is one of the most... More...
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