The Beach

REVIEW
Beautiful tropical scenery and a back-to-nature theme aren't enough to sustain interest in this picturesque though water-logged parable of one young man's search for paradise. Looking tanned and fit, DiCaprio stars as Richard, an American traveling through Asia searching for adventure. He finds it one evening in a seedy Bangkok hotel when he meets the loony Daffy (Carlyle), who tells him of a lush and very private island. Befriending the Europeans next door, he and his new cohorts set off to find the tropical paradise. And find it they do. And it's everything the nutty Daffy said it was: gorgeous beach, perfect weather, bountiful forest, and already inhabited not only by gun-toting natives, but a secretive commune as well. The moral of the evils of civilization is played with a heavy hand, here, though it is conveyed under the most attractive circumstances. But white sand, blue water and red blood are an unfulfilling triumvirate. At least the cast takes this seriously, which is more than most viewers will be able to do. It does look good, though.