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Movies / On DVD / The Beach
The Beach

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The Beach (2000)

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19 %
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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Beach

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A brilliant example of changing the material to suit the medium without losing the message.

comment Comment
03/28/05
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

In pitching for the mass market, Boyle's film has allowed itself to be rebranded as a Hollywood star vehicle, a cynical assemblage that is never more than the sum of its market-researched parts.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/02/02
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Sight and Sound

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Ben De Haan
Ben De Haan
ViewLondon

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
03/31/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

A mad assemblage of earlier, better bungle-in-the-jungle stories.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

By attempting to combine elements of mystery, adventure, action and romance, 'The Beach' becomes too jumbled to follow with much interest.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/24/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine

While it thumped along, I had plenty of time to ponder the other and better movies that it reminded me of.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/23/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Three-fifths of a great movie sunk by a crucial tonal misstep. A cross between Lord of the Flies, Swiss Family Robinson and Apocalypse Now.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
02/17/03
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

...Riddled with bizarre contrivances and unlikely scenarios.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

The film equivalent of eating one of those circular rice wafer things that taste like nothing.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment 2 Comments
12/08/02
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

Boyle takes a seriously wrong turn in the closing third of the film.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Beach

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