The Beach

Cinematographer Darius Khonji does a superb job of conveying both the sensual beauty (there's a spectacular moonlight-on-the-water sex scene with Leo and the lovely Ledoyen), and the darkness of Richard's paradise lost.

It's a movie to feel. Even when the thinking isn't all there, the emotions are, all the way to the film's poignant last seconds. more

It doesn't really come off, but it's an admirably ambitious, and mostly very engaging, coming-of-age adventure that apes the spirit of Joseph Conrad. more

Always a joy to look at -- and even if the story isn't half as profound as the filmmakers think it is. more

DiCaprio is up to all but the heaviest emotional lifting; when he enters a maniacal phase, you wish for Martin Sheen, who did the "back to the jungle" thing better in "Apocalypse Now." more

The theme (social breakdown in isolation) is strong, but the plot meanders, and the motivations are decidedly hazy, so its popularity probably stems from its seamless blending of naive wonder and soul-mining horror. more

As a book, The Beach offers the option of diving deep. As a movie, it sticks too close to the shoreline. more

A seriously confused film that makes three or four passes at being a better one and doesn't complete any of them. more

The story is less original than its setting - it knocks off everything from "Lord of the Flies" to "The Blair Witch Project" -and its unromantic moods may make DiCaprio's countless "Titanic" fans want to swim in the opposite direction. more

There's only so much meaningful interplay you can get out of a beachful of slackers and some tanning oil. more

Taken for it's face value "The Beach" is an entertaining, lavish and exiting movie working on 2 levels: The humoristic, superficial contemporary picture of a backpacker in beautiful surroundings, which becomes second nature to the moviegoer and vanishing just as quickly as the coke and popcorn enjoyed, if this is what one is looking for - or leaving the committed moviegoer with a nagging point of a knife constantly rousing the consciousness making it wonder: What was that all about? Why? - and following a further dive into the inner deep likewise little by little brings up to mind... more