giggcarter In my late teens early twenties and somewhat with the world at my feet, an open mind, a list for adventure and travel. Very much did the beach inspire me to journey the world. A uplifting and energetic soundtrack score that mixes memories with belief and life. As we get older our innocence falls and we become a norm, Life kinda slows and we become set back and comfortable. The film shows life is for living. The natural beauty of our world is our paradise and the feeling within is our ultimate paradise. If u get the film it's all about living. Leo is fine and has developed into a tour de force actor. Tilda is super. A film that inspires adventure.

thebricks 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.

Mace Danny Boyle's The Beach was an awful viewing experience for me and thinking back on it is just as unpleasant, so naturally I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about it.The reason that The Beach is so awful is because it is so pretentious and full of itself. It gives a painfully obvious and blatant expression on a social commentary that feels so forced. The Beach is also extremely boring. I was patiently waiting for the movie to pick up, but after an hour of pure nothing, I gave up hope and assumed that the rest of the film would be just as uneventful. Sadly, I was right. The Beach feels like a 2-hour long Expedia commercial. The music is cheap and terribly cheesy and the cinematography is sometimes interesting, but mostly just dull.Leonardo DiCaprio did give an entertaining performance even though he did overact quite a bit. Tilda Swinton wasn't bad either, but the rest of the cast is just so forgettable and boring that it even weighs down these two characters. Robert Carlyle was one of the few redeemable aspects of The Beach. His character was utterly mad and it seemed that he loved playing this character, which made him a blast to watch.The story is painfully slow. We have to endure long stretches of Leo's character expressing his obsession for a girl he barely knows, then we are suddenly treated to a horrifically graphic shark attack scene. The tone of The Beach is never established. Most of the movie is extremely depressing and generally uncomfortable to watch, but then the movie ends on a gleefully happy note as if nothing bad even happened.The best way I can explain The Beach is that it is a confused, hyper mess of a film that tackles a social commentary so blatantly obvious that it comes off grossly pretentious. And any time Danny Boyle tries to have fun, it comes off as just awkward. While The Beach does have a passionate cult following, I simply cannot find enjoyment in the film myself. It's dull, pretentious and just messy. I respect Danny Boyle as a film maker but I really don't know what he was hoping to achieve with this one. I'm just grateful that the whole experience was completely forgettable. Another trip to this mind- numbing "paradise" wouldn't be good for my sanity.

Python Hyena The Beach (2000): Dir: Danny Boyle / Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Virginie Ledoyan, Guillaume Canet: Intriguing film until one sees through its phony advertizing and dreary writing. Title regards opportunity and freedom, which is something the characters believe they've found until the fine print reveals unexpected dangers. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a drifter who is given a map to a paradise island. He ventures to the island and encounters people who made it their home. Lame subplots include shark attacks, romantic elements, and a dope crop. Director Danny Boyle cannot sort out the mess and hardly capitalizes on his success with Trainspotting. Ravishing production and photography are an asset. DiCaprio goes half way with his performance. He gains possession of this map and then inhabits another culture or lifestyle as well as romance two women but he goes through unexplained personality lapses in the third act that make little sense. Tilda Swinton is intriguing as an islander until she basically becomes a romantic prop. Robert Carlyle appears briefly with the map before he kills himself in a drunken state. Virginie Ledoyan and her boyfriend, played by Guillaume Canet accompany DiCaprio before also becoming a romantic prop situation. It addresses the perfect fantasy but as a film it is no fantasy and certainly no day at the beach. Score: 5 ½ / 10