The following review comes from Ain't It Cool News. It was apparently written after a test screening with Fox executives during August 1999.
An Advance Look At THE BEACH
Hey folks... Harry here. Well, last night in Boston, Fox had a screening of Danny Boyle's Leonardo DiCaprio film THE BEACH. Now, it should be noted that the following review is filled with SPOILERS, and if you don't want those... Stay away from the review, but... Spooky M (the writer) really dislikes the movie. This is an extremely early test screening of the film, and Danny Boyle is a highly stylized filmmaker that is not for all tastes. That being said, Spooky M did love SHALLOW GRAVE and TRAINSPOTTING. He didn't care for A LIFE LESS ORDINARY, a film that I actually have a fond spot for. So... who knows. To me, Danny Boyle is a filmmaker that makes movies for individuals as opposed to marketable groups. As such opinions on his films vary wildly. I'm reserving any judgement on this one till I see it myself... But my expectations have been lowered.
Leo's latest is no day at "The Beach".THE BEACH (20TH CENTURY FOX. 110 MIN. APPROX.)-* (Out of four stars)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen,Tilda Swinton and Robert Carlyle.
Written by John Hodge and Alex Garland
Directed by Danny Boyle.
An unfocused mess from start to finish full of credibility leaps that would make Superman go "whoa!", Leonardo DiCaprio's new film, "The Beach", is for hardcore fans of the heartthrob only (read: teenage girls who will have to sneak in because it will be "R" rated). Directed by Danny Boyle, who showed great promise with the one-two punch of "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting", "The Beach" will be one of those times you stare blankly at a screen for 110 minutes and then say, "huh"?
The film opens in Thailand, where we meet a young man named Richard (Leo D.). He was on a trip through Asia with his girlfriend prior to the opening of the film. Alas, he is single yet again as we meet her. No explination to the split other than "We didn't click". Anyway, Richard is spending some time in Thailand and eventually gets bored. He meets some people in the hotel he is staying in. One of those people is a crazy Scottish guy named Daffy (played by saving grace Robert Carlyle) who tells Richard of a paradise island, one that sounds wonderful but seems to have a dark side to it (after all, Daffy truly lives up to his name.). The other people he meets are a young, attractive French couple that Richard pals around with for a few hours. Later, Rich finds Daffy dead and also finds a map that can lead Richard to the island paradise. He convinces the French couple to join him and off they go in search of Nirvana.
They get there, and find that in addition to beautiful vistas and all the dope one could ever hope for, there are some mean looking men with machine guns protecting the dope. Instead of running back to the shore and swimming away from the island, the trio decides to stay. They encounter a group of people living the idyllic lifestyle on the beach, led by a woman by the name of Sal (Tilda Swinton). The group invites the three to stay. They do so, and that is where the troubles begin. Richard winds up falling in love with the French woman he arrived at the island with (leaving her boyfriend high and dry), but also winds up screwing Sal when the two head to the mainland for supplies (happens all the time, especially if you're Leo D.). To make matters even worse, two stoners Richard met prior to heading out to the island decide to come to the island in search of ganja heaven. Outsiders are strictly forbidden on the island, not only by the community but by the men with the guns. Leo goes bonkers, paradise goes to hell and one loses count as to how many tiles there really are on the ceiling of your local movie theater.
To start with, "The Beach" gives us a completely unsympathetic jerk for a lead character. We have no real clue as to why Richard would drop all to live in this paradise. Is he running away from something? Did something so horrible happen to him that he had to run away, or was he just bored? There is no motivation for him to leave his world behind to do this. If we are lead to believe that it is because his girlfriend jilted him, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Besides being a jerk, Richard is a complete moron! Aside from not leaving the island at the first sight of several mean-looking men with machine guns, he does these other wonders of human intelligence: after being warned by Sal's boyfriend to keep it in his pants when they head to the mainland, Richard returns to the island and gloats his sexual conquest to the guy, a guy who looks like he could squish Richard like a bug. Also, during his little bout with insanity, he heads into the drug farmer's den and points a gun at one of them while they are sleeping, only to do nothing to them (he doesn't even steal a gun!). I have nothing against anti-heroes or disillusioned main characters. But if they don't go anywhere in terms of character development, I could care less if he finds nirvana in Thailand or in a bordello in Las Vegas. Did he learn anything from this journey? Perhaps, but writers John Hodge and Alex Garland don't bother to share that with us.
Of course, Leo D.'s smug acting doesn't help much either. He was good in "This Boy's Life" and hell, he was even decent in "Titanic", but it looks as though DiCaprio is starting to believe his own hype. He gets through the film on his looks and charm, something one doesn't need in a tale that is supposed to be dark and daring. The one scene he does shine in is a completely off-the-wall section in which Richard goes bonkers and starts to think he is living in a video game. It is so bizzare and over-the-top, one can't help but laugh, and his facial expressions are priceless. As for the rest of the cast, Tilda Swinton plays Sal as if she is doing a dinner theater version of Cate Blanchett's "Elizabeth", Virginie Ledoyen is gorgeous but vapid as the French love interest named Francoise. But Robert Carlyle does bring energy and humor to his all-too-brief role as Daffy. Playing him as "Trainspotting" character Begbie's cousin, Carlyle's wacked performance makes me very excited to see him in the upcoming James Bond film.
It felt all through the film that Danny Boyle was out of his league, like Neil Jordan is when he is given a big Hollywood budget. His directing is very pedestrian. He obviously felt uncomfortable with the material and decided to go on autopilot here. That is too bad. His films have a unique feel and look to them (yes, even the godawful "Life Less Ordinary") but this one had very little of that in either department. My advice to Danny is to go back to making small films in Scotland. The ones you made there were fantastic. The climate obviously feeds your passion for making quality films. Get away from the poison of the Hollywood money machine. It is no good for you. Get out while you can!
I can see why 20th Century Fox decided to move "The Beach" to sometime next year. Despite the presence of Leo D., it will not be an easy sell, be it a good or bad film. I don't think editing the movie will help it either. Then again, it would make it shorter......
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