The Beach (film)

The Beach
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Danny Boyle
Produced by Andrew Macdonald
Screenplay by John Hodge
Based on The Beach
by Alex Garland
Starring
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
John Cale
Brian Eno
Cinematography Darius Khondji
Edited by Masahiro Hirakubo
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • 11 February 2000 (2000-02-11)
Running time
 119 minutes
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Language English
Budget $50 million[1]
Box office $144.1 million[1]

The Beach is a 2000 English-language drama thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland, which was adapted for the film by John Hodge. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, and Robert Carlyle. It was filmed on the Thai island Koh Phi Phi.

Plot

Richard, a young American seeking adventure in Bangkok, travels in a drab travelers hotel in Khao San Road where he meets a young French couple, Françoise and Étienne, and he immediately becomes attracted to Françoise. He also meets the eccentric Daffy, who tells him of a pristine, uninhabited and restricted island in the Gulf of Thailand with a beautiful hidden beach and lagoon. Daffy explains that he and other travelers settled there in secret several years earlier, but difficulties arose and he chose to leave. Daffy commits suicide, leaving Richard a map to the island. Richard convinces Françoise and Étienne to accompany him to the island, and the three travel to Ko Samui. After getting locked out of his bungalow during a thunderstorm, Richard meets two American surfers who have heard rumors of the island, including huge amounts of cannabis supposedly growing there. Before departing, Richard leaves them a copy of the map.

En route to the island, Richard becomes infatuated with Françoise. After swimming to the island from a neighboring one, they find a large cannabis plantation guarded by armed Thai farmers. Avoiding detection, they make their way across the island and meet English cricket fan Keatey where they are welcomed and surprised to see a fully functioning community of travelers living on the island, totally in secret. Sal, the community's English leader, explains that the farmers allow them to stay so long as they keep to themselves and do not allow any more travelers to come to the island but more travelers came over the years, evading the farmers and settling there. Richard lies that they have not shown the map to anyone else, which satisfies Sal. The trio become integrated into the largely self-sufficient and leisurely community.

One night, while the community are occupied, Françoise invites Richard to the beach where the relationship becomes romantic and they have sex. Despite hoping to keep it secret, everyone finds out and while angry, Étienne says he will not stand in their way if Françoise is happier with Richard. Tensions rise between Richard and Sal's South African boyfriend Bugs; when Richard gains popularity by killing a shark, Bugs mocks him over the shark's small size but Richard mocks him back for his jealousy.

When Sal selects Richard to accompany her on a supply run to Ko Pha Ngan, Bugs warns him to keep his hands off her. While there they encounter the American surfers Richard met in Ko Samui, who are preparing to search for the island and mention Richard's map. Richard lies to Sal that he did not give them a copy, and she coaxes him into having sex with her in exchange for keeping her secrecy about the incident. On their return to the island, Richard lies to Françoise about having had sex with Sal and continues his relationship with her. Things return to normal until a shark attack kills one of the community's fishermen and leaves another, Christo, severely injured. Sal refuses to compromise the community's secrecy by bringing medical help, and Christo is too traumatized to get into the sea and travel to the mainland. His worsening condition affects the group's morale, so they isolate him in a tent despite Étienne's objections.

When the surfers from Ko Pha Ngan turn up on the neighboring island, Sal sees that they have a map, confronts Richard for lying about it, and orders him to camp alone to observe them until they cross over, then intercept them, send them away and destroy it. She also tells everyone that she and Richard had sex, which leaves Françoise angry and heartbroken. Isolated from the group, Richard begins to lose his sanity, stalking the cannabis farmers, stealing some of their personal items while they sleep, and imagining that he is conversing with the deceased Daffy. The surfers reach the island but are discovered and killed by the farmers. Shocked at witnessing their deaths, Richard tries to gather Françoise and Étienne to leave the island. Étienne refuses to leave Christo, whose leg has become gangrenous, so Richard euthanizes Christo by suffocation.

The series of events propagated by Richard come to a head. He is captured by the farmers, who know that he has been stalking them, and brought before the community. Françoise and Étienne are also captured trying to escape and returned to the community. The farmers have also found the map that Richard had given the (now dead) surfers and become furious with the community for breaking their deal to not allow any more newcomers. Richard's part in the sexual betrayals of Françoise, Étienne and Bugs has already frayed the community's cohesion. The lead farmer gives Sal a gun loaded with a single bullet and orders her to make a choice: kill Richard and the group will be allowed to stay, or else they must all leave immediately. Sal pulls the trigger, but the chamber is empty. Shocked by her willingness to commit murder, the community abandons Sal, leave the island, and go their separate ways.

Later, back in America, Richard receives an email at an Internet cafe from Françoise with a group photograph of the beach community in happier times.

Cast

  • Leonardo DiCaprio as Richard, a freelance traveler who is the film's main character.
  • Tilda Swinton as Sal, the leader of the beach community.
  • Virginie Ledoyen as Françoise, the girlfriend of Étienne and Richard's love interest.
  • Guillaume Canet as Étienne, the boyfriend of Françoise.
  • Robert Carlyle as Daffy, the eccentric former member of the beach community.
  • Paterson Joseph as Keaty, a member of the beach community who loves cricket.
  • Lars Arentz-Hansen as Bugs, Sal's boyfriend and the beach community's carpenter.
  • Daniel Caltagirone as Unhygienix, the beach community's chef who often uses soap to wash off the fish smell whenever he cooks the fish.
  • Staffan Kihlbom, Jukka Hiltunen, and Magnus Lindgren as Christo, Karl, and Sten, the beach community's Swedish fishermen.
  • Victoria Smurfit as Weathergirl, a member of the beach community who can predict rain when her pelvis tightens.
  • Zelda Tinska and Lidija Zovkic as Sonja and Mirjana, two beach community members who come from Sarajevo.
  • Samuel Gough as Guitarman, the beach community's residential guitarist who is not a good singer.
  • Peter Youngblood Hills and Jerry Swindall as Zeph and Sammy, two Americans whom Richard meets in Ko Samui.
  • Saskia Mulder and Simone Huber as Hilda and Eva, two women who accompany Zeph and Sammy to the island and are killed by the farmers.
  • Peter Gevisser as Gregorio, an Italian member of the beach community whose bad tooth was forcefully removed by Bugs' pliers.
  • Abhijati 'Meuk' Jusakul as the leader of the cannabis farmers.

Additional beach community members are played by Myriam Acharki, Andrew Carmichael, Josh Cole, Hélène de Fougerolles, Stacy Hart, Nina Jacques, Sheridan Jones, Gunilla Karlson, Sian Martin, Isabella Seibert, Elizabeth Thomas, Michael Thorpe, Timothy Webster, and Ramon Woolfe.

Additional cannabis farmers are portrayed by Sanya 'Gai' Cheunjit, Kaneung 'Nueng' Kenia, Somchai Santitarangkul, Seng Kawee, and Somkuan 'Kuan' Siroun.

Production

The paradise location, Maya bay in Ko Phi Phi Lee.
Ko Phi Phi Leh

Ewan McGregor was cast as the main character before leaving due to disputes with the director. It was speculated that Boyle was offered additional funding under the condition that DiCaprio be cast and his character made American.[2]

Real-life drama unfurled on set one day when the cast and crew were involved in a boating accident during production. It was reported that the incident involved both Boyle and DiCaprio. No one was injured.[3]

The beach seen in the film is not the same as in real life. There is a gap between mountains on the actual beach in Thailand. The special effects crew digitally added some of the surrounding mountains during the post-production phase. The actual beach was also transformed from its natural look. It is reported that crew members flattened the beach with a tractor, much to the locals' dismay. The tsunami of 2004, however, has reshaped the beach to its natural look.

Boyle has been cited saying that the look of the jungle scenes in the film was inspired by the Rare/Nintendo game Banjo-Kazooie.

The waterfall scene, where DiCaprio and others jump from a high cliff to the water below, was filmed in Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand, at the Haew Suwat Waterfall.

The map in the film was illustrated by the author of the book that The Beach was based upon, Alex Garland. He received credit for this as the cartographer.

Controversies

Damage to filming location

Controversy arose during the making of the film due to 20th Century Fox's bulldozing and landscaping of the natural beach setting of Ko Phi Phi Leh to make it more "paradise-like". The production altered some sand dunes and cleared some coconut trees and grass to widen the beach. Fox set aside a fund to reconstruct and return the beach to its natural state; however, lawsuits were filed by environmentalists who believed the damage to the ecosystem was permanent and restoration attempts had failed.[4] Following shooting of the film, there was a clear flat area at one end of the beach that was created artificially with an odd layout of trees which was never rectified, and the entire area remained damaged from the original state until the tsunami of 2004.

The lawsuits dragged on for years. In 2006, Thailand's Supreme Court upheld an appellate court ruling that the filming had harmed the environment and ordered that damage assessments be made. Defendants in the case included 20th Century Fox and some Thai government officials.[5]

Portrayal of Thailand

After the film premiered in Thailand in 2000, some Thai politicians were upset at the way Thailand was depicted in the film and called for it to be banned. The depiction of the drug culture was said to give Thailand a bad image and having a statue of Buddha in a bar was cited as "blasphemous".[6]

Soundtrack

The Beach: Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released 21 February 2000
Genre Electronica, ambient, rock, Britpop
Length 76:53
Label Sire
Producer Pete Tong
Danny Boyle film soundtrack chronology
A Life Less Ordinary
(1997)A Life Less Ordinary1997		 The Beach
(2000)		 28 Days Later
(2002)28 Days Later2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link

The soundtrack for the film, co-produced by Pete Tong, features the international hits "Pure Shores" by All Saints and "Porcelain" by Moby, as well as tracks by New Order, Blur, Underworld, Orbital, Faithless, Sugar Ray, and others. Leftfield's contribution to the soundtrack, "Snakeblood", was found to have sampled Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Almost" without permission, leading to a lawsuit; band member Neil Barnes said he forgot to remove the sample from the finished track.[7] The songs "Synasthasia" by Junkie XL, "Out of Control" by The Chemical Brothers, "Fiesta Conga" by Movin' Melodies, "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley, "Neon Reprise" by Lunatic Calm and "Smoke Two Joints" by Chris Kay and Michael Kay were also included in the movie but omitted from the soundtrack. The teaser trailer for the film featured "Touched" by VAST.

The film score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti, and a separate album containing selections of his score was released as well.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Snakeblood"Neil Barnes, Paul DaleyLeftfield5:39
2."Pure Shores" (from Saints & Sinners, 2000)William Orbit, Shaznay LewisAll Saints4:24
3."Porcelain" (from Play, 1999)MobyMoby3:58
4."Voices" (from Sunmachine, 1998)Stephen Spencer, Paul Geoffrey Spencer, Scott RosserDario G featuring Vanessa Quinones5:19
5."8 Ball"Rick Smith, Karl Hyde, Darren EmersonUnderworld8:51
6."Spinning Away" (originally performed by Brian Eno and John Cale)Brian Eno, John CaleSugar Ray4:24
7."Return of Django" (originally performed by The Upsetters)Lee "Scratch" PerryAsian Dub Foundation featuring Harry Beckett and Simon de Souza4:17
8."On Your Own" (Crouch End Broadway mix)Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave RowntreeBlur3:32
9."Yé ké yé ké" (Hardfloor edit)Mory KanteMory Kante3:55
10."Woozy"Sister Bliss, Maxi Jazz, Rollo ArmstrongFaithless7:53
11."Richard, It's Business as Usual"Barry AdamsonBarry Adamson4:17
12."Brutal"Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian GilbertNew Order4:49
13."Lonely Soul" (from Psyence Fiction, 1998)Richard Ashcroft, Wil Malone, DJ ShadowUnkle featuring Richard Ashcroft8:53
14."Beached"Angelo BadalamentiOrbital and Angelo Badalamenti6:45
Total length:76:53

Release

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 20% based on 117 reviews, and an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Beach is unfocused and muddled, a shallow adaptation of the novel it is based on. Points go to the gorgeous cinematography, though."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

Critics suggested that DiCaprio's fame post-Titanic might have contributed to the financial success of this film, which came out less than three years after the James Cameron blockbuster. CNN's Paul Clinton said "Leonardo DiCaprio's main fan base of screaming adolescent girls won't be disappointed with The Beach. The majority of the film displays the titanic-sized young heartthrob sans his shirt in this story about the pseudo-angst and alienation of a young man from the United States escaping civilization and his computer-obsessed generation." He agreed with most others that The Beach was "nothing to write home about". DiCaprio was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor for his work on the film.

The budget of the film was US$50 million. Global takings totaled over US$144 million, of which US$39 million was from the USA.[10]

Director Boyle has spoken negatively of the film, telling a Philadelphia audience in 2017 that he realized halfway through filming that he "didn't like any of the characters."

Home video

The film has been released on VHS and DVD. The standard DVD release included nine scenes that were deleted from the movie, including an alternative opening which to a degree resembles the one in the novel, were later included in a Special Edition DVD release, along with Danny Boyle's commentary on what might have been their purpose. There is also an alternative ending which depicts Sal committing suicide and everyone loading up on a boat from the raft.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Beach". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ↑ "Ewan McGregor discusses why he fell out with Danny Boyle for a decade". The Independent. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  3. ↑ Reddit AMA with Tilda Swinton
  4. ↑ Vidal, John. October 29, 1999. DiCaprio film-makers face storm over paradise lost, The Guardian, retrieved on November 03, 2017
  5. ↑ "Filming 'damaged beach'". Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  6. ↑ BBC, 9 March 2000. Thai MPs call for Beach ban (retrieved on December 3, 2000).
  7. ↑ "One half of Leftfield, Neil Barnes, tells why he can't wait to give Rockness a blast of the coolest sounds down memory lane". The Scotsman. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Beach (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  9. ↑ "The Beach reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  10. ↑ "The Beach (2000)". Box Office Mojo. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
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