The wonders of modern technology, like computers, video games, cell phones, pagers and the Internet, were designed to make our lives more enjoyable and facilitate communications. Yet for many, the complexity of the digital world is overwhelming, leading to a feeling of unreality ... of being disconnected.

The desire to find something real - to connect with something or someone - is what drives Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young American backpacker who arrives in Thailand with adventure on his mind. Travel, he asserts, is the search for experience, the quest for something different.

At a cheap hotel in Bangkok, Richard meets a French couple, Etienne (Guillaume Canet) and Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen). He also encounters Daffy (Robert Carlyle), an older traveler ravaged by years of sun and drugs. Rambling and paranoid, Daffy tells Richard the improbable tale of a secret island, a paradise on earth: the perfect beach, unsullied by tourists. The next day, Richard finds a piece of paper pinned to his door. It is a hand-drawn map of the island described by Daffy. This, Richard realizes, may be the "something different" he has been looking for. He goes to find Daffy only to discover his corpse, the crazed man's wrists slit by his own hand.

Richard persuades Francoise and Etienne to join him and they set off on a journey, following Daffy's map. To get to "the beach" they must risk their lives by swimming across an open sea from one island to another, crawling past armed guards and jumping from the top of a 120-foot waterfall. Reaching their destination, they find a small community of travelers like themselves, living in secret. They are welcomed into the group, and the island paradise becomes their home, sapping them of all will to return to the world they knew before.

Yet beneath the surface, this heaven on earth is less than perfect. Personal conflict and petty jealousy ferment to create a violent rivalry, and a series of tragic events fragments the community. Increasingly isolated and disturbed, Richard finds himself

more than witness to an incident of bloodshed. The dream has become a nightmare; paradise has turned to hell. Now his only goal is to leave. But escape will not be easy, for the beach is a secret place, a secret that some will defend to the death.

Twentieth Century Fox presents a Figment Film, Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Beach," also starring Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet and Robert Carlyle. The film is directed by Danny Boyle, and produced by Andrew Macdonald. The screenplay is by John Hodge, based on the book by Alex Garland. The director of photography is Darius Khondji, A.S.C., A.F.C., and the production designer is Andrew McAlpine. The editor is Masahiro Hirakubo, the co-producer is Callum McDougall, music is by Angelo Badalamenti, and the costume designer is Rachael Fleming.

When Alex Garland's novel The Beach was published in 1996 it garnered impressive reviews. The New York Times Book Review called it "absorbing" and "a genuine page turner." Booklist said it was an "intensely imagined tale ... a wholly original and unsettling depiction of psyches shaped by the bewildering messages of 'Loony Tunes,' 'Apocalypse Now,' Nintendo and the age-old cult of oblivion."

But it was a friend's recommendation that grabbed Danny Boyle's interest. "I was mesmerized by my friend's description of the island and its secret community," recalls the director of "Trainspotting" and "Shallow Grave."

"Like the story itself, the book's success lies in people passing the word onto each other," Boyle continues. "We were keen to distance the film from Lord of the Flies, which The Beach has been unfairly compared to. Alex's novel is a wonderful parable of modem life - that nature isn't something we can just waltz into and develop to our taste.

"The film certainly isn't about primitivism. The inhabitants of the island occupy a very sophisticated and developed world. And the violence comes not from some primal urge, but from the highly sophisticated stimuli we surround ourselves with, even in a tropical paradise."

The story's examination of the notion of paradise was another draw. "Searching for paradise is ingrained in many of our psyches," notes Boyle. "But the problem with paradise is that it's exclusive by nature. The characters who live at what they think is paradise - the beach - don't want anyone else coming and spoiling the land. They want it to remain exclusive. And inevitably when they are threatened by new arrivals, they'll do anything, even resort to violence, to protect paradise; that's one of the ironies of the story."

Producer Andrew Macdonald and writer John Hodge shared Boyle's enthusiasm for the novel. Says Macdonald: "We were looking for a project that had a truly international feel to it and Garland's book fit this criteria perfectly." Adds Hodge: "The novel had an enticing premise and an engagingly troubled and complex hero who finds himself in circumstances that reveal his moral uncertainty.

"The story can almost be summarized as 'the devil makes work for idle hands,"' Hodge continues. "There isn't enough to do there. There's a lack of moral fixtures, which leads to all sorts of unpleasantness."

Boyle and Macdonald approached Garland to secure the rights to the book. "Lucky for us, Alex was a big fan of Danny's directing and John's adaptation of 'Trainspotting,'" explains Macdonald. Adds Garland: "After seeing 'Shallow Grave' and 'Trainspotting,' I had the impression that Danny, Andrew and John were the right team to make 'The Beach."'

Boyle, Macdonald and Hodge then traveled to Thailand, not just to scout locations, but to get a feel for the country where the story was set. Like the fictional Richard, they traveled mostly backpacking style, visiting Bangkok, Ko Samui, Kho Pangan, Ko Tao, Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. It was an illuminating experience for the filmmakers. "The country was fascinating, in particular in relation to the film," says Hodge. "I was interested in the effect of western tourism on Thailand and the people. I was struck by the superficiality of any 'conversion' to western ways, in that immediately beneath the surface is the robust indigenous Thai culture itself."

Hodge returned to write the screenplay while Boyle and Macdonald scouted locations. Their search extended to Australia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Malaysia, before landing where it had begun - in Thailand. "We were looking for a paradise with all the conventional features that tourists dream of but sealed away from traditional travelers," says Macdonald.

During this visit they re-discovered Phi Phi Le, a small island off Phuket. "It was ideal in that the beach was enclosed by a sea wall of cliffs, and the lagoon was beautiful," recalls Macdonald. "The beach was quite neglected but it had exquisite white sand."

Following extensive research into using artificial coconut trees, the production team decided to ask permission to plant 100 coconut trees behind the sand dunes and make two of the dunes shallower, so filming could take place behind them looking out to sea. Meetings were set up with Thailand's Royal Forestry Department, which after an environmental investigation, gave the production company permission to make the alterations to the island on the condition it would be put back to its original form. With the utmost care for the environment, these temporary changes and the island's restoration were supervised by the Forestry Department and an expert horticulturist brought in by the production. The latter continues to monitor the island's restoration.

With locations and script in place, Boyle and Macdonald started casting. While Richard in Alex Garland's novel was British, the filmmakers wanted to cast an American to add to the film's international feel.

Boyle and Macdonald went to New York to meet with Leonardo DiCaprio. After reading the script aloud with Boyle and Macdonald, it was obvious DiCaprio would make the perfect Richard. "Leo is an amazing actor, fresh, original and bursting with ideas," says Boyle. "His taste, though he would vehemently deny this, is quite European, so the idea of playing an extremely flawed hero appealed to him. Richard himself becomes a secret, a mystery: He cuts himself off from home and eventually even the island community, becoming totally self reliant - an extreme form of the Beach itself separating himself from humanity with all its imperfections."

DiCaprio had been waiting almost a year for a suitable follow-up to "Titanic." "I wanted my next film to be something I felt strongly about, and 'The Beach' and the character of Richard were the first things I felt some kind of connection with," DiCaprio notes.

"Because Richard has been saturated with digital information, he's never had any need to feel real emotion," he elaborates, "So he sets off on a journey to Thailand to find something real in life. Richard's constantly looking for a much deeper sensation."

In Alex Garland's novel, the film "Apocalypse Now" played a key role in Richard's fantasies. Boyle also used Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic as a kind of reference to Richard's inner journey. "In 'Apocalypse Now' and 'The Beach' the characters are searching for someone or something; they're looking for answers," explains Boyle. "What each ultimately confronts is his own heart of darkness."

Elaborating on this theme, Boyle notes that "when the island is threatened from outside sources, Richard not only deals with the problem of the invaders, but also satisfies his search for sensation in living out this 'Apocalypse Now'-type fantasy.

"When you're stumbling around the jungle looking for locations, the images and sounds of the Vietnam War, or rather Hollywood's version of it, resonate through your head. Richard has an obsession that somewhere out there lies some kind of revelation, some answer. It's nonsense, of course. It's a Thai dope farmer who asserts that this is his land, and that the community's use of it, to feed its fantasies - peaceful or violent - is a fallacy."

Before these fantasies take hold, Richard encounters the members of this unique community. Its unofficial leader is a woman named Sal, who expertly controls those around her and is fiercely determined to maintain the secrecy of the island.

"Sal had to have the authority to make people follow her," says Boyle. "We thought Tilda Swinton had exactly this kind of strength." Swinton, who had given birth to twins not long before the start of production, was impressed by the filmmakers' enthusiasm. "I had not read the book," she remembers, "but Danny and Andrew won me over when they came to visit me in Scotland."

Also joining the starring cast are French actors Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet, who play Richard's fellow travelers to the island paradise, Francoise and Etienne. Francoise becomes the object of Richard's desire and one of the factors that lead to his downfall. Etienne, her boyfriend, is the one person on the island who stays true to what's decent, providing a moral touchstone.

Says Danny Boyle: "Virginie and Guillaume are two of France's most outstanding young actors. I was amazed by their ability to work outside their own country, using a different language, yet play huge emotional scenes accurately and movingly. They never wilted even when forced to listen to my struggling beginning-level French."

The casting of Ledoyen had a surprising link to Boyle's unique way of setting his visual style for each film, in which he prepares a collage book of photographs and images that interest him. One such photo was of a woman who in his mind looked like Francoise. It turned out that the woman was Virginie Ledoyen, who Boyle did not know at the time.

Ledoyen was thrilled with the opportunity to work in her first big studio production, but collaborating with Danny Boyle was an even bigger attraction. "Danny's films are so surprising and impressive," she states. "It was a challenge for me to do an English speaking part, but it was also very exciting to make my first international movie with an English director, a talented American actor, and so many different nationalities. They all created a certain energy that I had not found elsewhere."

Canet read Garland's novel as soon as he was called for an audition. "I loved the book and was so excited to test for the role," he remembers. "I love Danny's films, and it was a great honor to work with him."

Robert Carlyle was cast in the small but key role of Daffy, whose map sends Richard, Etienne and Francoise on their journey. "I never considered anyone else for the role," says Boyle, who had worked with Carlyle on "Trainspotting." "Robert can be very scary and mesmerizing, so he was the perfect choice to play Daffy, a visionary who has fallen off the edge." Carlyle took two weeks out of playing the villainous Renard in the James Bond movie "The World Is Not Enough" to travel to Thailand to film his scenes.

In keeping with the film's international nature, supporting roles were filled by actors representing Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, South Africa and The Netherlands. Over 1,000 Thai residents were used as extras.

In addition to traditional rehearsals in Thailand, Boyle also had the cast learn fishing, growing vegetables, carpentry, cooking and swimming, as well as attend language classes. "I wanted the cast to learn the basic skills they would need to survive on an island, so that they looked like they knew what they were doing during the film," relates Boyle. "It also gave me the chance to learn things from the actors and the psychology of the group, some of which eventually fed their way into the film."

It was an enlightening time for the cast. Comments Ledoyen: "It was fascinating as we exchanged ideas and feelings about the entire community of characters, not just Richard, Etienne and Fran?oise. We worked to try to discover each other. It helped when we started shooting, because we grew to know each other so well and did not need to always explain things to one another."

Boyle took equal care when putting together his behind-the-camera team. Cinematographer Darius Khondji (with whom Boyle collaborates for the first time) and production designer Andrew McAlpine played key roles in the creation of the film's visual style.

"We wanted the film to be a deeply sensual experience because it relates a passage to paradise," Boyle explains. "Darius certainly gave us that. But in the film's second half there is a darkness that has to grow out of that sensuality; it has to ripen until it decays. Also, despite its location, I wanted the film to have an urban consciousness, and I think Darius is probably the greatest urban cinematographer in the world."

Boyle heaps equal praise on McAlpine. "More than any other position on a film, the production designer, who has to inhabit the film before anyone else gets there, must be an internationalist," says Boyle. "Andrew has worked on and with an eclectic mixture of people and films. He was obsessed with the huge melting pot of cultures that make up the story's community, and that's why I wanted him to work with us on 'The Beach."'

Boyle again collaborates with editor Masahiro Hirakubo, who edited "A Life Less Ordinary," "Trainspotting" and "Shallow Grave." Hirakubo edited the film in London while the production was shooting in Thailand. Says Boyle: "Masahiro makes editing as much a creative process as the cinematographer's work with light. He becomes intimate with the psychology of the major characters and knows them like he has written the novel himself."

Boyle also reunites with costume designer Rachael Fleming, who had previously worked on "Trainspotting" and "A Life Less Ordinary." "Rachael has this amazing ability to make modem costumes look timeless," Boyle states. "She put Leo in one t-shirt and one shirt, both of which seem to totally vanish when you wanted them to, while at other times they looked amazing."

The production hired over 300 crew members, two-thirds of whom were Thai. "'The Beach' is really the first film made by foreigners in Thailand that actually represents contemporary Thailand," states Andrew Macdonald. "In the past, Thailand has mainly doubled for Vietnam. So to many of the Thai crew 'The Beach' was a very exciting project - a chance to see their country put up on the world stage."

Shooting began on location in Phi Phi Le. Each day, cast and crew traveled on boats to the island while the camera equipment was moored on a ship off the island. Makeup and costumes also wereset up on a boat that went out to the island each day. The production then moved to Khao Yai National Park to shoot waterfall scenes,

Due to the myriad difficulties presented by filming in Bangkok, the small town of Krabi doubled for the Thai capital. Additional locations included the middle of Andaman Sea (where DiCaprio, Ledoyen and Canet braved jellyfish and even a shark), Phuket and soundstages in Thalang.

While several of these locations matched the idyllic settings described in the story, Leonardo DiCaprio points out that the true nature of paradise can't be found in any exotic locale. "Richard discovers that paradise is something you can find only within yourself. It's not some far-off idyllic place. It's not some fantasy or the next stop on the train station. It's where you are now - finding and experiencing things on your own that will make you happy."

Danny Boyle adds that he hopes audiences take away two kinds of experiences from the "The Beach." "The first half of the film is a deeply pleasurable, romantic, sensual journey of what many of us crave for - paradise. The second half explores some of the moral complexities and contradictions that surround the concept of paradise. So I hope that people will find the film both a pleasurable and challenging experience."

- Copyright 20th Century Fox

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